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As 2024 kicks into gear, we invite you to look ahead with ESA and see what awaits us in the coming 12 months.

After Ariane 5’s retirement in 2023, Europe’s new and versatile heavy-duty launcher Ariane 6 will continue the Ariane legacy of excellence and reliability. After years of development and construction,Ariane 6 will be ready for its first flight from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou.  

In 2024, we’ll see a return-to-flight for Vega-C. Vega-C will continue to provide Europe with its own affordable lightweight launcher. Together both projects guarantee Europe’s independent access to space.

We also continue to collaborate internationally with NASA on the Artemis lunar programme. This

Image: So near, or so far?

Madison WI (SPX) Jan 04, 2024
Humans are racing to harness the ocean's vast potential to power global economic growth. Worldwide, ocean-based industries such as fishing, shipping and energy production generate at least US$1.5 trillion in economic activity each year and support 31 million jobs. This value has been increasing exponentially over the past 50 years and is expected to double by 2030. Transparency in monitori

Boston MA (SPX) Jan 04, 2024
A colorful, festive image shows different types of light containing the remains of not one, but at least two, exploded stars. This supernova remnant is known as 30 Doradus B (30 Dor B for short) and is part of a larger region of space where stars have been continuously forming for the past 8 to 10 million years. It is a complex landscape of dark clouds of gas, young stars, high-energy shocks, an

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 04, 2024
Earth planning date: Tuesday, January 2, 2024: Curiosity was busy over the holiday break, working independently through 11 pre-planned sols. As Earth transitioned into a new year, dawn broke once again on Mars, and Curiosity awaited a call in the form of a fresh set of instructions. The return to planning for Curiosity's science team today was not immune to plot twists and suspense. While

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 04, 2024
In a significant leap for mobile connectivity, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has successfully launched the first set of Starlink satellites equipped with Direct to Cell capabilities, as reported by T-Mobile. This launch, part of the livestreamed event last night, marks a pivotal step in the Coverage Above and Beyond initiative, a joint venture between T-Mobile and SpaceX. This ambitious project aims

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 04, 2024
The field of extragalactic astronomy has witnessed a significant advancement with the FAST All Sky HI survey (FASHI), a project designed to utilize the unique capabilities of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). This ambitious survey, spanning an impressive 22000 square degrees of the sky, aims to revolutionize our understanding of the universe's HI content and its l

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 03, 2024
In a landmark event for space exploration and communications technology, SpaceX has successfully launched the Ovzon 3 mission to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch, conducted from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, took place on Wednesday, January 3, with a precisely timed 10-minute launch window that opened at 6:04 p.m. ET. A backup opportu

Washington DC (USNI) Jan 03, 2024
For the United States and its allies and partners, using space to obtain an information advantage is a key aspect of joint operations. The joint force uses space operations to understand the battlespace, exercise command and control (C2), and conduct joint integrated fires. For decades, the United States has enjoyed a significant operational advantage in space, but China is challenging that.

An international team of astronomers has assembled and reprocessed observations of the exoplanet WASP-121 b that were collected with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in the years 2016, 2018 and 2019. This provided them with a unique dataset that allowed them not only to analyse the atmosphere of WASP-121 b, but also to compare the state of the exoplanet’s atmosphere across several years. 

The team found clear evidence that the observations of WASP-121 b were varying in time. Using sophisticated modelling techniques, they demonstrated that these temporal variations could be explained by weather patterns in the exoplanet's atmosphere.