The Latest Breaking News from European Space Agency

European Space Agency to hitch ride on SpaceX rockets

The European Space Agency is having trouble with the latest generation of Ariane rockets, which will not get off the ground before late 2023. The delay means the European effort to compete with Elon Musk's cut-price SpaceX launcher is losing altitude. In fact, ESA on Thursday announced plans to use…

Radio France Internationale · Oct 20, 2022

Ireland's first satellite 'to open doors' for more space demonstrations

The satellite, known as the Educational Irish Research satellite 1 – or Eirsat-1 – will be launched from the ESA’s base in French Guiana between January 20 and February 20

Irish Mirror · Oct 17, 2022

SpaceX capsule splashes down, returning 4 astronauts from Space Station

The fourth long-duration astronaut team launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS) safely returned to Earth on Friday, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida after nearly six months of research aboard the orbital outpost.

Reuters · Oct 14, 2022

Signs of life on Mars may be deeper than any current rover can dig — study

Ionizing radiation may destroy the signs of life Curiosity and Perseverance seek. Only ESA's delayed Rosalind Franklin rover stands a chance.

Inverse · Sep 13, 2022

Harpoons, robots and lasers: how to capture defunct satellites and other space junk and bring it back to Earth

More than half of the thousands of satellites in orbit are now defunct, and this accumulation of floating space debris has been described as a “fatal problem” for current and future space missions and human space travel.

The Conversation · Sep 13, 2022

Frank Drake has passed away but his equation for alien intelligence is more important than ever

How many intelligent civilisations should there be in our galaxy right now? In 1961, the US astrophysicist Frank Drake, who passed away on September 2 at the age of 92, came up with an equation to estimate this. The Drake equation, dating from a stage in his career when he…

The Conversation · Sep 5, 2022

Robotic space arm successfully completes test by moving a suitcase-sized object around the International Space Station

The European Space Agency says the arm ticked off another milestone by moving a suitcase-sized object over six hours, proving it can do what it was designed for.

ABC News · Sep 2, 2022

Urgent aid appeal launched as satellite images show a third of Pakistan underwater

Humanitarian workers expect conditions to worsen as monsoon rains continue and say millions face a terrible winter

The Guardian - UK · Sep 1, 2022

Look! New Webb Telescope photos show eerily intricate details of the Phantom Galaxy

In its newest image, the Webb Space Telescope teams up with Hubble to study how stars form in nearby galaxies.

Inverse · Aug 30, 2022

Shaun the Sheep heads to the moon on NASA's new rocket accompanied by Snoopy doll

A cuddly toy of the beloved Aardman character has been assigned a lucky seat on the mammoth 42-day trip into space, with the first human astronauts not set to land on the moon until 2025

Daily Mirror · Aug 29, 2022