The Po Valley, nestled in northern Italy, is renowned for its picturesque landscapes and rich agricultural history. However, the region is also grappling with a persistent environmental challenge: air pollution. The unique geographical and meteorological conditions of the Po Valley contribute to fluctuations in air quality – impacting the health of its residents.

A new application channel is now open for ESA parabolic flights, another way to welcome proposals that study new technologies from both academic institutions and companies.

See how the Sun changed between February 2021 and October 2023. As the Sun approaches the maximum in its magnetic activity cycle, we see more brilliant explosions, dark sunspots, loops of plasma, and swirls of super-hot gas.

The Sun goes through a cycle of activity that lasts around 11 years. It is caused by the ‘solar dynamo’, the process that generates the Sun’s magnetic field. At the beginning of this cycle (the solar minimum) there is relatively little activity and few sunspots. Activity steadily increases until it peaks (the solar maximum) and then decreases again to a minimum.

The most recent

ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt shared this video with sequences of his microgravity training on the International Space Station on social media with the caption:

“The training prepared me for most of my tasks during the #Muninn mission on the Space Station. But one thing that is difficult to train for is the feeling of microgravity, or how much I have to push myself to get my body translating into the velocity I want, or how I turn into a corner in a good way, or how I reposition myself. That is difficult to train, so I had to practice