Week in images: 15-19 July 2024

Discover our week through the lens

Happy International Moon Day!

ESA’s network of satellite communication stations – Estrack – continues to connect Earth and the Moon in 2024. ESA stations are supporting three new and returning partners this year: one of them carried ESA’s first scientific instrument to the lunar surface and another will deploy the first Moon rover made in Europe.

Image: PariSat school experiment sends back stunning Earth pics

Image: Black body experiment on Ariane 6 captures Pale Blue Dot

Paris, France (SPX) Jul 19, 2024
The latest addition to ESA's ESTEC technical center in the Netherlands, the Hertz 2.0 building, stands more than 22 meters high beside its neighboring sand dunes, but here is the view inside. Seen here being lined with steel plates that will serve to insulate it from external radio signals, this spacious test area will be employed to evaluate the performance of a new generation of bigger a

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jul 19, 2024
China is gearing up to promote the extensive use of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System by designating several pilot cities to highlight BeiDou's applications in mass consumption, manufacturing, and emerging sectors such as the Industrial Internet and Artificial Intelligence (AI), according to an announcement by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). "The large-scal

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 19, 2024
Maxar Intelligence, a leader in secure and precise geospatial intelligence, has released the first images captured by its next-generation WorldView Legion satellites. The first two of these satellites were launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, on May 2, 2024. The 30 cm-class high-resolution images were gathered on July 16, 2024, showcasing the advanced capabilities of the

London, UK (SPX) Jul 19, 2024
Researchers have detected early signs of the Sun's next 11-year solar cycle, despite being only halfway through the current one. This discovery was made through the observation of sound waves within the Sun. Currently at its peak or 'solar maximum,' Cycle 25 has seen the Sun's magnetic field flip, causing an increase in sunspots, flares, and coronal mass ejections. These activities result

London, UK (SPX) Jul 19, 2024
Europe's upcoming space mission, a telescope designed to search for Earth-like planets beyond our solar system, is scheduled for launch at the end of 2026. The telescope, known as PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars), aims to find nearby potentially habitable planets around Sun-like stars for detailed examination. The spacecraft will be launched on Europe's new Ariane