Radiant skin is considered a sign of good health in humans, but plants also glow when they are well. A potential new ESA satellite could use this fluorescence to track the health and productivity of vegetation worldwide. The Florescence Explorer, or FLEX for short, is a candidate for ESA’s eighth Earth Explorer. It aims to … Dowiedz się więcej
The in-orbit validation of Galileo has been achieved: Europe now has the operational nucleus of its own satellite navigation constellation in place – the world’s first civil-owned and operated satnav system. In 2011 and 2012 the first four satellites were launched into orbit. Four is the minimum number needed to perform navigation fixes. In the … Dowiedz się więcej
Some tricky manoeuvres are now under way to steer ESA’s trio of Swarm satellites into their respective orbits so that they can start delivering the best-ever survey of our magnetic field. Since the Swarm constellation was launched last November, engineers have been busy putting the satellites through their paces to make sure that the craft … Dowiedz się więcej
Following last week’s wake-up of the Rosetta comet-chaser, ESA’s flight controllers have conducted the first in a series of health checks aimed at assessing how well it came through 31 months of hibernation. After its long deep-space hibernation, Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft woke up on 20 January to begin the final leg of its 10-year journey … Dowiedz się więcej
It was a fairy-tale ending to a tense chapter in the story of the Rosetta space mission this evening as ESA heard from its distant spacecraft for the first time in 31 months. Rosetta is chasing down Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where it will become the first space mission to rendezvous with a comet, the first to … Dowiedz się więcej
With a final, modest, thruster burn yesterday afternoon, ESA’s billion-star surveyor finalised its entry into orbit around ‘L2’, a virtual point far out in space. But how do you orbit nothing? And who can show you how to get there, anyway? Just after 15:30 GMT (16:30 CET) yesterday, Gaia made a short thruster burn, nudging … Dowiedz się więcej