All articles tagged with #esa
A 14-year-old who asked NASA for a work placement ended up cleaning a space toilet at Leicester’s National Space Centre. Now Claire Parfitt is the Mars Exploration Study Lead at the European Space Agency, coordinating international efforts through the International Mars Exploration Working Group and shaping studies and technology for future crewed Mars missions, including the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover.
Stop Killing Games lobbied California’s AB 1921 to require publishers to warn 60 days before ending official server support and offer remedies such as offline modes or refunds; the bill stalled in the Senate amid ESA claims that private Minecraft/Call of Duty servers constitute piracy, a claim SKG rejects. EU efforts similarly stalled. With funding and lobbying constraints cited, SKG plans more court challenges and a recruitment drive to push for post-license play protections and counter publishers’ arguments in hearings across other states.
During a California Senate committee hearing on AB 1921 (Protect Our Games Act), ESA VP Jennifer Gibbons claimed Minecraft servers are illegal and not affiliated with Microsoft, arguing against the bill’s requirements on refunds and server deprecation; she labeled community-hosted servers as piracy, despite Mojang/Microsoft promoting and supporting such servers. The bill did not pass the State Senate, and proponents plan amendments moving forward.
The European Space Agency's Euclid telescope released the largest visible-light image of the Milky Way's center, revealing more than 60 million stars in the galactic bulge along with nebulae and star clusters. The nine-pointing mosaic, captured in 2025, demonstrates Euclid's sharp, wide-field imaging that rivals Hubble over a much larger area.
A 0.75–1.65 km-wide asteroid named 1997 NC1 will pass about 1.6 million miles (2.6 million km) from Earth on Saturday, posing no danger; discovered in Hawaii, it may be visible with binoculars and won’t come this close again until 2133, per NASA/ESA trajectory tracking.
ESA says asteroid 1997 NC1 will make its closest approach to Earth in 400 years this weekend, passing about 2.56 million kilometers away on June 27. It poses no risk but will be visible only through a telescope or large binoculars (brightness near magnitude 10). Observers worldwide can track it with astronomy apps and the Virtual Telescope Project livestreams (June 26–27); best viewing times vary by location, with the path near Ophiuchus and Serpens Cauda.
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot tested the European EuroSuit IVA spacesuit prototype aboard the ISS to assess donning time (target under two minutes) and mobility, as part CNES‑led development with Spartan Space, MEDES and Decathlon. A parallel water‑survival campaign was conducted in Marseille, with three on‑orbit tests planned before a final ground version by 2027 to support a possible flight version.
NASA named Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano as Artemis 3's pilot—the first European assigned to an Artemis crew—while ESA framed the seat as leverage to secure a European on the Moon rather than a symbolic orbit, as Gateway’s fate shifts Europe’s lunar plan; Artemis 3 will test docking with prototype landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX and will not land, with Europe offering the European Service Module plus potential surface assets like Argonaut and Moonlight in a bid to secure a future boots-on-the-Moon mission ahead of a Paris ministerial decision.
The European Space Agency has adopted Arrakihs, a fast F-class mission designed to map ultra-faint galaxy haloes and stellar streams to reveal how galaxies like the Milky Way form and evolve. Using a four-camera binocular instrument spanning near-UV to near-IR, Arrakihs will study at least 80 Milky Way–mass galaxies to piece together merger histories, with a launch targeted for 2030.
NASA announced Artemis III's crew with ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano as pilot; Europe will supply its third European Service Module to power Orion during an Earth-orbit test of docking and rendezvous ahead of a Moon landing. The crew also includes commander Randy Bresnik and lander specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas, with Bob Hines as backup. Parmitano, a two-time ISS veteran and spacewalker, will help validate systems and procedures, highlighting Europe's key role in Artemis.
NASA has announced the Artemis III prime crew—Randy Bresnik (commander), Luca Parmitano (pilot), Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio (mission specialists)—with Bob Hines as backup—for a 2027 lunar test flight. The mission will launch on SLS/Orion from Kennedy Space Center, rendezvous and dock in orbit with Blue Origin and SpaceX landers, and roughly two weeks in space will test complex docking and operations ahead of Artemis IV. Parmitano marks the first ESA astronaut on an Artemis mission, underscoring international collaboration.
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot photographed Mount Vesuvius from the International Space Station, offering a striking view of Naples around the crater. The image, credited to ESA/NASA – S. Adenot, was captured during SpaceX Crew-12’s six‑month mission on Day 103 (orbit 1598) of their stay. The crew had briefly sheltered in the Dragon capsule on June 5 during a spacewalk to fix a leak on the station, but Adenot’s Vesuvius shot highlights how volcanoes can appear among Earth’s most beautiful sights from orbit.
British Paralympian and surgeon John McFall, an ESA astronaut reserve, could become the first person with a physical disability to live in orbit aboard Vast’s Haven-1 in a 2027 mission, studying how space affects the body and prosthetics; UK Space Agency support would back sponsorships for his flight on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, with a private ISS option as well, potentially making him the first Briton in space since Tim Peake and challenging perceptions of what people with disabilities can achieve in space.
SOHO lost contact in 1998 during routine maintenance; a radar ping from the Arecibo Observatory confirmed its location and tumbling, triggering months of careful recovery to thaw frozen hydrazine, warm fuel pipes, and recharge the batteries. As sunlight on its panels improved, power returned and SOHO gradually came back online, with the episode prompting ground-procedure reforms. The mission has since become a highly productive solar observatory and prolific comet hunter, illustrating how a healthy spacecraft can be endangered by ground operations.
ESA is coordinating in-person and online events for the 12 August 2026 total solar eclipse across Europe, including a live broadcast from Javalambre (Teruel, Spain), a free public viewing program in León, English/Spanish educational resources, and safety guidance for observing the Sun.