Copernical Team
Earth from Space: UK heatwave
This summer, heatwaves struck Europe, North Africa, the US and Asia with temperatures reaching over 40°C in places – breaking many long-standing records. Images from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission show the scale of Britain’s heatwave as it baked in extreme temperatures in August.
Register: Open Day for visitors with disabilities
Registration has begun for the ESA Open Day at ESTEC on Saturday 1 October, open to people with disabilities. ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, will be open from 10:00 to 14:00, giving visitors with disabilities the opportunity to tour this leading European space establishment at their own pace. The event will conclude with a talk by ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer.
NASA's Perseverance rover investigates geologically rich Mars terrain
NASA's Perseverance rover is well into its second science campaign, collecting rock-core samples from features within an area long considered by scientists to be a top prospect for finding signs of ancient microbial life on Mars.
Mars rover sees hints of past life in latest rock samples
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has detected its highest concentrations yet of organic molecules, in a potential signal of ancient microbes that scientists are eager to confirm when the rock samples are eventually brought to Earth.
While organic matter has been found on the Red Planet before, the new discovery is seen as especially promising because it came from an area where sediment and sal Media Briefing: Europe takes part in historic asteroid impact demonstration
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On September 27 at 01:14 CEST, NASA’s DART (for ‘Double Asteroid Redirection Test’) mission is lined up to collide with a body called Dimorphos – a 160-m diameter ‘moonlet’ of a larger asteroid called Didymos – to try and measurably shift its orbit. In this media briefing, hear more about Europe’s contribution to the DART mission, and learn of ESA’s own mission with a close-up survey of Dimorphos, conducted by a spacecraft called HERA. The HERA mission is planned for launch in 2024.
Lowell Discovery Telescope plays key role in DART planetary defense test mission
Within two weeks, the DART spacecraft will impact the asteroid moon Dimorphos as it completes the world's first planetary defense test mission. The success of the effort relies heavily on the Lowell Discovery Telescope, which scientists are using for both before- and after-impact observations.
The DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission is an outgrowth of ongoing interest in planet No sighting in northern Philippines of Chinese rocket debris
A new space race? China adds urgency to US return to moon
Space startups pitch to fly at IAC 2022
ESA will introduce ten promising entrepreneurs in its start-up competition held at the 73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2022) in Paris from 18–22 September.
In-flight call between European Parliament and Samantha Cristoforetti
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On 15 September 2022, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti conducted an in-flight call with the European Parliament from the International Space Station. In conversation with President Metsola and ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, she provided insights into the importance Europe’s presence in space, as well as the scientific and technological progress enabled by its activities. The three also touched on Samantha’s upcoming commandership, life on the Station, and the pressing issue of space debris.
