On the morning of 4 June 2025, ESA offers media representatives the exclusive opportunity to step aboard the iconic Norwegian tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, docked at Quai Amiral Infernet in Nice, France. This remarkable vessel arrives following ESA’s six-week Advanced Ocean Training Course, a transformative journey from Tromsø, Norway, where emerging researchers have been immersed in the world of ocean science.

The European Space Agency will request funding from member states for an Earth observation satellite system for security applications, blurring the line between its traditional civil focus and defense work.

San Diego CA (SPX) May 21, 2025
My telescope, set up for astrophotography in my light-polluted San Diego backyard, was pointed at a galaxy unfathomably far from Earth. My wife, Cristina, walked up just as the first space photo streamed to my tablet. It sparkled on the screen in front of us. "That's the Pinwheel galaxy," I said. The name is derived from its shape - albeit this pinwheel contains about a trillion stars.

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 21, 2025
To shed light on the evolutionary roots of the cyanobacterial circadian clock, a Japanese research team has traced the development of timekeeping proteins from ancient bacterial ancestors. Their study focused on the oscillatory behavior of KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC proteins, comparing the mechanisms in modern cyanobacteria to those of ancestral versions. "Extant cyanobacteria utilize a circadia

Changes to regulations and processes will introduce new restrictions on the use of hazardous chemicals in the EU. These could impact space programmes, the space sector and its supply chains – PFAS, chromates and the REACH revision take centre stage. Register for ESA’s free workshop on 17 June providing clarification on these changes and join us for a panel discussion.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 22, 2025
NASA is advancing innovative microgravity fluid management technologies that pave the way for efficient plant watering in space-without the need for moving parts. Feeding astronauts on deep space missions with fresh produce will require robust plant cultivation methods. However, watering plants in microgravity presents unique problems. Without gravity, bubbles don't rise and droplets don't

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 22, 2025
China is encouraging international researchers to join its Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission by proposing scientific payloads for inclusion on the spacecraft. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has issued a global call for proposals, welcoming submissions from institutions abroad, including those in Hong Kong and Macao, for the development of instruments to be used on the up

Paris, France (SPX) May 22, 2025
A newly released image from the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission reveals a crater layered with geological history and sculpted by ancient martian forces. Captured in October 2024 by the orbiter's High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), the scene features Deuteronilus Cavus, a 120-kilometer-wide depression in Mars's mid-latitudes where planetary highlands meet lowlands. This nearl

Pasadena CA (JPL) May 22, 2025
Understanding Jupiter's early evolution helps illuminate the broader story of how our solar system developed its distinct structure. Jupiter's gravity, often called the "architect" of our solar system, played a critical role in shaping the orbital paths of other planets and sculpting the disk of gas and dust from which they formed. In a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy,

University Park PA (SPX) May 22, 2025
The fundamental building blocks for planet formation can exist even in environments with extreme ultraviolet radiation, according to a new study by an international collaboration led by Penn State astronomers. The study leveraged the unparalleled capabilities of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and sophisticated thermochemical modeling to investigate a protoplanetary disk - the dust and