One year since the launch of ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), we catch up with core team members Claire Vallat, Giuseppe Sarri, Olivier Witasse and Ignacio Tanco.

From memories of launch day to hopes for the future, they talk honestly about the ups and downs of flying a space mission, and reveal how they’re ensuring that Juice will be a huge success.

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As they reach the end of one year of rigorous basic astronaut training, ESA astronaut candidates Sophie Adenot, Rosemary Coogan, Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Raphaël Liégeois, Marco Sieber and Australian Space Agency astronaut candidate Katherine Bennell-Pegg will receive astronaut certification at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre on 22 April 2024.

The group was selected in November 2022 and began their training in April 2023.

Basic astronaut training provides the candidates with an overall familiarisation and training in various areas, such as spacecraft systems, spacewalking, flight engineering, robotics and life support systems, as well as survival and medical training.

Following certification, the new

Week in images: 08-12 April 2024

Discover our week through the lens

One year of basic training will soon bear fruit for ESA’s astronaut candidates Sophie Adenot, Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Rosemary Coogan, Raphaël Liégeois, Marco Sieber and Australian Space Agency astronaut candidate Katherine Bennell-Pegg.

On 22 April 2024, these astronaut candidates will receive their certification at ESA's European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, officially becoming fully fledged astronauts eligible for spaceflight.

EarthCARE - ESA's cloud and aerosol mission

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 10, 2024
Today, Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) unveiled the Planet Insights Platform, an integrated suite for developing Earth insights. This initiative represents a significant development in the integration of Planet's suite of products with Sentinel Hub, acquired last year. By merging analysis-ready Earth data with advanced cloud-based analytics, the platform facilitates efficient data analysis, streaming

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Apr 11, 2024
Vyoma, a company based in Germany focused on space situational awareness, has successfully obtained further funding from a space-focused fund supported by the European Investment Fund (EIF). The EIF, jointly owned by the European Investment Bank and the European Union, funds disruptive technologies across various sectors in Europe. Atlantic Labs, another major investor in Vyoma and fund manager,

Kirtland AFB NM (SPX) Apr 08, 2024
The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL's, Directed Energy Directorate, completed the build of its new Government Radiometrically-Accurate Instrument for Laser Evaluation Version II, or GRAILE-II, system Jan. 18, 2024. The diagnostic system will be used to validate the performance of the Department of Defense, or DOD's, most powerful high-energy laser systems. According to Dr. Joseph Co

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows the delta of the Ebro River on the northeast coast of Spain.

Suit up and get ready to launch on your own amazingly realistic Moon mission! Available now in Fortnite, Lunar Horizons is a vividly immersive experience set on the Moon during a future international mission. Released on 11 April 2024, the game was created by Epic Games, ESA and Hassell, in collaboration with Buendea and Team PWR.