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After years of development and a rigorous testing programme, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has left Munich, Germany, and is now on its away to SpaceX’s launch site in Vandenberg, California. Once it arrives, it will be put into storage for a few weeks until it is time to ready the satellite for liftoff – which is scheduled to launch in May on a Falcon 9 rocket.

The Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer, or EarthCARE for short, is the most complex Earth Explorer mission to date. The new satellite will look at the role that clouds and aerosols play in heating and

In one of the longest-running trials of a self-driving vehicle, collecting data over 13 000 km of autonomous travel, Darwin Innovation Group has been testing a novel driverless shuttle bus at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, in Oxford, UK; home to ESA’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT). The technology is funded under the ESA 5G/6G Programme with the support of the UK Space Agency.

For International Women's Day 2024, we're acknowledging the remarkable careers of the women in key Directorate positions at ESA: Simonetta Cheli, Geraldine Naja and Carole Mundell. Read about the impactful work, pivotal life experiences and their insights on fostering a more inclusive future.

Image: ESA astronaut candidate Raphaël Liégeois from Belgium during a robotics session as part of his basic astronaut training at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre, near Cologne, Germany.

London, UK (SPX) Mar 07, 2024
In a groundbreaking study led by space weather experts at the University of Surrey, there's a growing call for immediate action to safeguard the burgeoning space tourism industry from the invisible threat of cosmic radiation. The study, recently published in Space Policy, emphasizes the urgent need for collaboration between regulators and space tourism companies to enhance passenger and crew pro

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 07, 2024
GITAI USA Inc. (GITAI), a leader in space robotics innovation, has successfully showcased its advanced robotics technology through the construction of a 5-meter-high communication tower. This achievement was realized in a desert environment meticulously designed to simulate the lunar surface, representing a "first of its kind" demonstration in space robotics. GITAI, in a collaborative effo

Orono ME (SPX) Mar 04, 2024
Over the last four decades, warming climate and ocean temperatures have rapidly altered the Greenland Ice Sheet, creating concern for marine ecosystems and weather patterns worldwide. The environment has challenged scientists in their attempts to measure how water moves around and melts the ice sheet because equipment can be destroyed by icebergs floating near the glaciers. Collected using