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DUKAS_124253811_EYE
ESA's Test-Bed Telescope 2, located at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, looks out over the Atacama Desert at sunset.
Pretty in pink, the Test-Bed Telescope 2, located at ESOÕs La Silla Observatory in Chile, looks out over the Atacama Desert at sunset. The Moon can be seen rising in the left of the image.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Beauty From Chaos
Appearing within the boundless darkness of space, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescopevïs snapshot of NGC 34 looks more like an otherworldly, bioluminescent creature from the deep oceans than a galaxy. Lying in the constellation Cetus (The Sea Monster), the galaxyvïs outer region appears almost translucent, pinpricked with stars and strange wispy tendrils. The main cause for this galaxyvïs odd appearance lies in its past. If we were able to reverse time by a few million years, we would see two beautiful spiral galaxies on a direct collision course. When these galaxies collided into one another, their intricate patterns and spiral arms were permanently disturbed. This image shows the galaxy's bright centre, a result of this merging event that has created a burst of new star formation and lit up the surrounding gas. As the galaxies continue to intertwine and become one, NGC 34vïs shape will become more like that of an peculiar galaxy, devoid of any distinct shape.vä In the vastness of space, collisions between galaxies are quite rare events, but they can be numerous in mega-clusters containing hundreds or even thousands of galaxies.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Hubble’s Views of M13 (2010) and M3 (2019)
To investigate the physics underpinning white dwarf evolution, astronomers compared cooling white dwarfs in two massive collections of stars: the globular clusters M3 and M13. These two clusters share many physical properties such as age and metallicity but the populations of stars which will eventually give rise to white dwarfs are different. This makes M3 and M13 together a perfect natural laboratory in which to test how different populations of white dwarfs cool.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Washington, US
RELATED
To celebrate the recent data release from Landsat 9, this week we take a closer look at a part of Washington state Ð the northwesternmost state of the US Ð through the lens of Landsat 9.
Zoom in to see this image at its full 30 m resolution or click on the circles to learn more about the features in it.
Data from Landsat 9, which was launched in September 2021, is now publicly available for users and researchers across the world. The satellite will continue the programmeÕs critical role in monitoring, understanding and managing the land resources needed to sustain human life.
A partnership between NASA and the US Geological Survey, the satellite carries two science instruments, the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2). The OLIÐ2 captures observations of the EarthÕs surface in visible, near-infrared, and shortwave-infrared bands, and TIRS-2 measures thermal infrared radiation, or heat, emitted from EarthÕs surface.
This false-colour image, captured on 12 February 2022 by Landsat 9, has been processed using the satelliteÕs near-infrared channel. This channel is frequently used to highlight vegetation, which is particularly evident in the lower half of the image. Fields that are currently cultivated can be seen in bright red, while unvegetated areas appear in green and brown. Circular shapes, predominantly in the bottom-left, are centre-pivot irrigation fields Ð where equipment rotates around a central pivot and crops are watered with sprinklers. Washington is a leading agricultural state, with the top crops being apples, milk, potatoes and wheat.
Columbia River, the largest river in the Pacific Northwest, is visible in the top of the image in black. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows through Washington and Oregon, before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The river is one of the worldÕs greatest sources of hydroelectric power and, with its tributaries, represents a thi
USGS/NASA Landsat/ESA / eyevine -
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Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria and Lake Turkana are featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission. These two large African lakes that were included in a new study published today in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters. According to the studyÕs main findings, lakes at lower latitudes such as these are anticipated to experience the greatest increase in severe lake heatwaves.
Credit: Copernicus Sentinel (2021), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine
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Copernicus Sentinel (2021), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine -
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Cygnus cargo spacecraft
Cygnus-17 cargo craft captured by ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer aboard the International Space Station when flying over Earth and arriving to the Station on 21 February 2022 after its launch on 19 February 2022 carrying science and supplies for the crew of Expedition 66.
Credit: ESA/NASA-M.Maurer; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 / eyevine
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Snow-washed Greece
Rare snowfall over Greece may be the new normal.
For the second year in a row, Greece experienced unprecedented amounts of snow, blanketing the country in white. ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer took this birdÕs eye view of the town of Chalcis, along the Euboean Gulf, from the International Space Station in early February.
He posted to social media, noting, ÒIn keeping with its national colours, wintry Greece presented itself in blue and white.Ó
Storm Elpida swept across Greece and also parts of Turkey, causing mass disruption to the Mediterranean country known more for white-sand beaches and whitewashed homes than snow.
While hard to deny the beauty of the white and blue landscape of this image, it is a grim reminder of the effects of climate change on the planet. Especially when compared to photos of wildfires in Greece in the summer of 2021, imaged by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet during his Alpha mission.
Like satellites watching Earth from above, astronauts are also observers of a rapidly changing Earth. Photos taken by astronauts complement satellite data but also serve another vital role: climate advocacy to the general public.
Matthias is doing important science on board the International Space Station for his Cosmic Kiss mission and is active on social media to share the benefits and the warnings.
A pretty picture like this says a thousand words on how humans are interacting with and affecting our surroundings. We can be both in awe of the beauty and the reality of the situation. The question is: what will we do about it?
Credit: ESA/NASA-M.Maurer / eyevine
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The devil’s in the detail
Chaotic mounds, wind-sculpted ripples and dust devil tracks: this image shows a fascinating and otherworldly landscape near Hooke Crater in MarsÕ southern highlands.
The image was taken by the CaSSIS camera onboard the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) on 1 February 2021, and shows part of Argyre Planitia, centred at 46.2¡S/318.3¡E.
This type of scenery is similar to Ôchaotic terrainÕ: a kind of broken, disrupted terrain seen across Mars where haphazard groups of variously sized and shaped rocks Ð irregular knobs, conical mounds, ridges, flat-topped hills known as mesas Ð clump together, often enclosed within depressions. There are around 30 regions of chaotic terrain defined on Mars (see ESA Mars Express views of Ariadnes Colles, Pyrrhae Regio, and Iani Chaos for just a small sample); while this small patch has not been defined as one of these, its appearance is certainly chaotic.
Perhaps the most striking feature here is the wispy, snaking tendrils stretching out across the frame. These dark traces of past activity were caused by dust devils, whirlwinds of dust that occur on both Mars and Earth when warm air rises quickly into cooler air. These devils leave tracks on a planetÕs surface as they travel through dusty landscapes. The tracks here appear to have a north-south orientation, indicating a possible local wind pattern.
The bluish tinge to the dust devil tracks seen here is a result of the three filters that were combined to create this image; while not representative of what an observer would see with the naked eye, these filters produce a colour infrared image with greater sensitivity to variations in surface mineralogy.
TGO arrived at Mars in 2016 and began its full science mission in 2018. The spacecraft is not only returning spectacular images like this one, but also providing the best ever inventory of the planetÕs atmospheric gases, and mapping the planetÕs surface for water-rich locations. It will also provide data relay ser
ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine -
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Lignite surface mines in Germany
Images of the Inden and Hambach lignite surface mines in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, as seen from the International Space Station. ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer posted these images to his social media channels on 10 February 2022 with the caption: "Due to the fact that Germany has been covered in clouds since I've been up here, there hasn't been much to see so far. But a few days ago, there were landmarks jumping into my view: the Inden and Hambach lignite surface mines. Nearby is also the Garzweiler mine which so incredibly deep and wide that that small planes can fly through this huge pit below ground level. A most prominent feature of how humans change our planet."
Credit: ESA/NASA-M.Maurer; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 / eyevine
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New eruption at Krakatoa Volcano
A new eruption started at the Anak Krakatoa, or Krakatau, volcano on Rakata Island in Indonesia on 3 February 2022, as seen in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. The eruption prompted the Anak Krakatau Volcano Observatory to raise the aviation colour code to orange.
The eruption started at around 16:15 local time, with a thick column of gas, with possible volcanic ash content, rising to around 200 m above the crater.
Credit: Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine
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(FOTO: DUKAS/EYEVINE)
contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine -
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Hubble captures a peculiar galactic pair
This striking image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope showcases Arp 298, a stunning pair of interacting galaxies. Arp 298 Ñ which comprises the two galaxies NGC 7469 and IC 5283 Ñ lies roughly 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. The larger of the two galaxies pictured here is the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7469, and IC 5283 is its diminutive companion. NGC 7469 is also host to an active, supermassive black hole and a bright ring of star clusters.
The ÒArpÓ in this galaxy pairÕs name signifies that they are listed in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies compiled by the astronomer Halton Arp. The Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies is a roguesÕ gallery of weird and wonderful galaxies containing peculiar structures, featuring galaxies exhibiting everything from segmented spiral arms to concentric rings. This interacting galaxy pair is a familiar sight for Hubble Ñ a portrait of the merging galaxies in Arp 298 was published in 2008.
This image of Arp 298 contains data from three separate Hubble proposals. By combining observations from three proposals, Arp 298 is captured in glorious detail in seven different filters from two of HubbleÕs instruments Ñ the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys.
The process of planning Hubble observations starts with a proposal Ñ a detailed plan of what an astronomer intends to observe and their scientific motivation for doing so. Once a year, these proposals are gathered and judged in a gruelling review process which assess their scientific merit and feasibility. Fewer than 20% of the proposed observations in any given year will make it through this process and be approved, which makes observing time with Hubble highly prized indeed.
This system will be one of the first galaxies observed with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope as part of the Director's Discretionary Early Release Science Programs in Summer 2022.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Evans, R. Chandar; CC BY 4.0 / eyevi
ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Evans, R. Chandar; CC BY 4.0 / eyevine -
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Athens under snow
An unusual snowstorm has blanketed parts of Turkey and Greece, causing power cuts and chaos on the roads and flight cancellations. These two satellite images, from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, show Athens: the image on the left was captured on 25 January and the image on the right is from 20 January. Just five days apart, the difference that this severe Mediterranean snowstorm has made to the Greek capital is clear to see. Heavy snow fell here for more than 12 hours on 24 January, leaving thousands of motorists stranded on the Attiki Odos motorway, with those not rescued having to cope with temperatures as low as –14°C as night fell. The Greek government declared a two-day public holiday after the snowstorm.
The storm has also caused similar chaos in Turkey. And, remarkably beaches in Antalya have seen snow for the first time in 29 years.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 is a two-satellite mission. Each satellite carries a high-resolution camera that images Earth’s surface in 13 spectral bands. Together they cover all Earth’s land surfaces, large islands, inland and coastal waters every five days at the equator.
Credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine
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contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine -
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Solar Orbiter’s view of Comet Leonard in visible light
A composite of Comet Leonard images captured 15-16 December in visible light by the Metis instrument onboard the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft. The comet transited across the field of view with its dust and ion tails pointing towards the instrument.
Credit: ESA/Solar Orbiter/Metis Team / eyevine
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The beauty of the Sun seen from space
Image of a sunset or sunrise seen from the International Space Station. ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer captured and posted this image to his social channels on 23 January 2022 with the caption:
He posted this to his social channels on 20 January 2022 with the caption: "The beauty of a sunset / sunrise. This thin layer of atmosphere is what makes our planet unique and provides the basis for all life. From space it seems more fragile, prone, unguarded and vulnerable than the scent of perfume."
Credit: ESA/NASA; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 / eyevine
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DUKAS_133951992_EYE
Crater tree rings
This feature could easily be mistaken for a tree stump with characteristic concentric rings. It’s actually an impressive birds-eye view into an ice-rich impact crater on Mars. Tree rings provide snapshots of Earth’s past climate and, although formed in a very different way, the patterns inside this crater reveal details of the Red Planet’s history, too.
The image was taken by the CaSSIS camera onboard the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) on 13 June 2021 in the vast northern plains of Acidalia Planitia, centred at 51.9°N/326.7°E.
The interior of the crater is filled with deposits that are probably water-ice rich. It is thought that these deposits were laid down during an earlier time in Mars’ history when the inclination of the planet’s spin axis allowed water-ice deposits to form at lower latitudes than it does today. Just like on Earth, Mars’ tilt gives rises to seasons, but unlike Earth its tilt has changed dramatically over long periods of time.
One of the notable features in the crater deposits is the presence of quasi-circular and polygonal patterns of fractures. These features are likely a result of seasonal changes in temperature that cause cycles of expansion and contraction of the ice-rich material, eventually leading to the development of fractures.
Understanding the history of water on Mars and if this once allowed life to flourish is at the heart of ESA’s ExoMars missions. TGO arrived at Mars in 2016 and began its full science mission in 2018. The spacecraft is not only returning spectacular images, but also providing the best ever inventory of the planet’s atmospheric gases with a particular emphasis on geologically and biologically important gases, and mapping the planet’s surface for water-rich locations. It will also provide data relay services for the second ExoMars mission comprising the Rosalind Franklin rover and Kazachok platform, when it arrives on Mars in 2023. The rover will explore a region of Mars though
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Matthias and ROBert in Cupola
On 27 January 2021, just after the arrival of PLAYMOBIL’s robotic genius, ROBert, at the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer took the opportunity to give his robot friend a guided tour of the Station - here they are in the Station's Cupola module.
Credit: ESA/PlayMobil / eyevine
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DUKAS_133951995_EYE
Beaming with science
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station farewelled over 2000 kg of scientific experiments and hardware on Sunday 23 January as a cargo Dragon spacecraft began its return to Earth.
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer captured the resupply vehicle in all its glory as it departed the orbital outpost at 15:40 GMT/16:40 CET. It splashed down approximately 29 hours later off the coast of Florida, USA.
The SpaceX spacecraft arrived at the Space Station just before Christmas, bringing new experiments alongside Christmas treats. It returned with a bellyful of science, including several European experiments that were quickly transported to NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, and other items that flew with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet during his Alpha mission.
Among the experiments were an investigation into the effect of microgravity on resting muscle tone known as Myotones, cell cultures for the Cytoskeleton experiment that looks at how human cells behave in weightlessness, and a new device called Thermo-Mini for continually monitoring core body temperature that you might have seen Matthias sporting on Station.
It also transported cargo relating to Microage, which uses synthetic muscle cells to study muscle degradation aboard the International Space Station, the Blob educational experiment that saw students replicate space research in the classroom using a naturally occurring slime mould, and equipment for the Multiscale Boiling experiment Rubi.
The next resupply vehicle to fly to the Station is a Northrop Grumman Cygnus, expected to be launched no earlier than 19 February 2022. In the meantime, the astronauts of Expedition 66 continue their busy schedule of science and operations in orbit. See Matthias Maurer’s Cosmic Kiss mission page for the latest news.
Credit: ESA/NASA-M.Maurer / eyevine
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DUKAS_135274136_EYE
The Medusae Fossae formation
This image from ESA’s Mars Express shows part of what is possibly the largest single source of dust on Mars: a wind-sculpted feature known as the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF). The MFF is remarkably extensive – it is the largest sedimentary deposit on the planet and stretches out discontinuously for more than 5000 km, covering an area about the size of India.
This image comprises data gathered by ESA’s Mars Express using its High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on 14 May 2021. The colour image was created using data from the nadir channel, the field of view aligned perpendicular to the surface of Mars, and the colour channels of the HRSC. The ground resolution is approximately 19 m/pixel and the images are centred at about 192°E/2°N. North is to the right.
Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine
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The Medusae Fossae formation
This image from ESA’s Mars Express shows part of what is possibly the largest single source of dust on Mars: a wind-sculpted feature known as the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF). The MFF is remarkably extensive – it is the largest sedimentary deposit on the planet and stretches out discontinuously for more than 5000 km, covering an area about the size of India.
This image comprises data gathered by ESA’s Mars Express using its High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on 14 May 2021. The colour image was created using data from the nadir channel, the field of view aligned perpendicular to the surface of Mars, and the colour channels of the HRSC. The ground resolution is approximately 19 m/pixel and the images are centred at about 192°E/2°N. North is to the right.
Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine
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Ariane 6 lower stage at Europe's Spaceport
The the first lower stage of ESA’s next-generation Ariane 6 launch vehicle has been installed on the assembly line at Europe’s Spaceport behind the upper stage. It is now time to join the two to create the central core of Ariane 6 in readiness for the first combined tests on the launch pad.
The arrival from Europe of Ariane 6’s central core in French Guiana is a major milestone and an exciting step forward in the path to first flight as it allows combined tests to start. From arrival to hot-firing tests on the launch pad, operational procedures will mimic an Ariane 6 launch campaign.
The lower stage is from ArianeGroup’s Les Mureaux site in France. Fitted with an additional two or four solid rocket boosters it is designed to power Ariane 6 in the first phase of flight, delivering about 135 tonnes of thrust in vacuum. The core stage is powered by the liquid-fuelled Vulcain 2.1 – an upgraded engine derived from Ariane 5’s Vulcain 2.
The Ariane 6 upper stage, built in ArianeGroup’s Bremen factory in Germany, allows Ariane 6 to reach a range of orbits on a single mission to deliver more payloads.
These two stages arrived by boat in French Guiana on 17 January 2022.
The upcoming tests verify all the interfaces and functions between the Ariane 6 launch vehicle and ground facilities of the new Ariane 6 launch complex at the spaceport. Reaching this phase of activities is the result of intense preparation by ESA and its partners in Europe and at Europe’s Spaceport.
Credit: P BAUDON/ESA/CNES/Arianespace / eyevine
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New location, same ASIM
The first-of-its-kind complement of instruments dubbed the ‘space storm hunter’ hangs out in its new location outside the International Space Station in this image taken by on of the Station’s external cameras.
The Atmosphere–Space Interactions Monitor, or ASIM for short, measures electric events in Earth’s upper atmosphere with cameras, photometers and X- and gamma-ray detectors.
Last week ASIM was switched off and moved by robotic arm to another spot outside the Columbus module to make room for an American payload. Now in its new location, the instrument is being activated and so far things are going well.
From its new vantage point, just next to its current one, ASIM is pointing in a different direction, slightly more towards the horizon instead of straight down. This will help researchers work out how much the atmosphere at different altitudes influences the processes of electrical discharges. It’s like viewing a firework display: one can enjoy the shapes more from the side than if one is just below the display!
Though designed to look for electrical discharges born in stormy weather conditions in Earth’s upper atmosphere, ASIM recently detected a unique gamma-ray burst from outer space.
The spurt turned out to be from an explosive giant flare from a magnetar located 10 million light-years away in a distant galaxy. Magnetars are a special type of neutron star – the collapsed core of what was once a supergiant star. This fortuitous observation was published in the December issue of Nature magazine.
ASIM was built by Danish company Terma, the Danish Technical University, the University of Bergen in Norway and the University of Valencia in Spain for the European Space Agency.
Credit: ESA/NASA / eyevine
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Ariane 6 upper stage at Europe's Spaceport
The central core of ESA’s new generation Ariane 6 launch vehicle arrived by boat in French Guiana from Europe on 18 January 2022. This enables combined tests at Europe’s Spaceport where Ariane 6 parts will come together on the launch pad for the first time.
Ariane 6’s central core comprises a lower stage and upper stage. The lower stage is from ArianeGroup’s Les Mureaux site in France; the upper stage is from ArianeGroup’s Bremen factory in Germany.
Upon arrival by boat at Pariacabo harbour, two containers were transported by road to the new Ariane 6 launch vehicle assembly building – part of the Ariane 6 launch complex at Europe’s Spaceport. Here, the rocket stages were unpacked and installed on the assembly line machinery for integration, to form the Ariane 6 central core. After this, they will be used in ‘combined’ tests which will verify all the interfaces and functions between the Ariane 6 launch vehicle and ground facilities at the spaceport.
From arrival to hot-firing tests on the launch pad, operational procedures will follow as closely as possible those for any Ariane 6 launch campaign.
Credit: P BAUDON/ESA/CNES/Arianespace / eyevine
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A Cosmic Draw
It is now widely accepted amongst astronomers that an important aspect of how galaxies evolve is the way they interact with one another. Galaxies can merge, collide, or brush past one another Ñ each of which has a significant impact on their shapes and structures. As common as these interactions are thought to be in the Universe, it is rare to capture an image of two galaxies interacting in such a visibly dynamic way. This image, from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, feels incredibly three-dimensional for a piece of deep-space imagery.
The subject of this image is named Arp 282, an interacting galaxy pair that is composed of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 169 (bottom) and the galaxy IC 1559 (top). If youÕre interested in learning more about Seyfert galaxies, you can read about the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5728 here. Interestingly, both of the galaxies comprising Arp 282 have monumentally energetic cores, known as active galactic nuclei (AGN), although it is difficult to tell that from this image. This is actually rather fortunate, because if the full emission of two AGNs was visible in this image, then it would probably obscure the beautifully detailed tidal interactions occurring between NGC 169 and IC 1559. Tidal forces occur when an objectÕs gravity causes another object to distort or stretch. The direction of the tidal forces will be away from the lower-mass object and towards the higher mass object. When two galaxies interact, gas, dust and even entire solar systems will be drawn away from one galaxy towards the other by these tidal forces. This process can actually be seen in action in this image Ñ delicate streams of matter have formed, visibly linking the two galaxies.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton / eyevine
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Hubble revisits a galactic oddball
The dwarf galaxy NGC 1705 is featured in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This diminutive galaxy lies in the southern constellation Pictor, and is approximately 17 million light-years from Earth. NGC 1705 is a cosmic oddball Ñ it is small, irregularly shaped, and has recently undergone a spate of star formation known as a starburst.
Despite these eccentricities, NGC 1705 and other dwarf irregular galaxies like it can provide valuable insights into the overall evolution of galaxies. Dwarf irregular galaxies tend to contain few elements other than hydrogen or helium, and are considered to be similar to the earliest galaxies that populated the Universe.
The data shown in this image come from a series of observations designed to unveil the interplay between stars, star clusters, and ionised gas in nearby star-forming galaxies. By observing a specific wavelength of light known as H-alpha with HubbleÕs Wide Field Camera 3, astronomers aimed to discover thousands of emission nebulae Ñ regions created when hot, young stars bathe the clouds of gas surrounding them in ultraviolet light, causing them to glow.
This is not the first time that NGC 1705 has been imaged by Hubble Ñ astronomers peered into the heart of the galaxy in 1999 using HubbleÕs workhorse camera at the time, the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. This instrument was replaced with the Wide Field Camera 3 during the fifth and final Space Shuttle mission to Hubble in 2009, and the newer instrument has provided a richer and far more detailed portrait of NGC 1705 than the 1999 observation.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar; CC BY 4.0 / eyevine
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Strike!
The subject of this image is a group of three galaxies, collectively known as NGC 7764A. They were imaged by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, using both its Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The two galaxies in the upper right of the image appear to be interacting with one another — indeed, the long trails of stars and gas extending from them both give the impression that they have both just been struck at great speed, thrown into disarray by the bowling-ball-shaped galaxy to the lower left of the image. In reality, however, interactions between galaxies happen over very long time periods, and galaxies rarely collide head-on with one another. It is also unclear whether the galaxy to the lower left is actually interacting with the other two, although they are so relatively close in space that it seems possible that they are. By happy coincidence, the collective interaction between these galaxies have caused the two on the upper right to form a shape, which from our Solar System's perspective, ressembles the starship known as the USS Enterprise from Star Trek!
NGC 7764A, which lies about 425 million light years from Earth in the constellation Phoenix, is a fascinating example of just how awkward astronomical nomenclature can be. The three galaxies are individually referred to as NGC 7764A1, NGC 7764A2 and NGC 7764A3, and just to be really difficult, an entirely separate galaxy, named NGC 7764, sits in the skies about a Moon’s distance (as seen from Earth) away. This rather haphazard naming makes more sense when we consider that many of the catalogues for keeping track of celestial bodies were compiled well over 100 years ago, long before modern technology made standardising scientific terminology much easier. As it is, many astronomical objects have several different names, or might have names that are so similar to other objects’ names that they cause confusion.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey, D
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Exchanging samples in the Materials Science Lab (MSL)
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer exchanges samples for a DLR experiment in the European Materials Science Lab. He posted this to his social channels on 20 January 2022 with the caption: "Exchanging metallic samples in the Materials Science Lab (MSL) for a Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) experiment. This oven lets us melt selected alloys under defined conditions in zero gravity. These kinds of experiments build our knowledge and help improve technology used in industrial casting processes on Earth for new, lighter versions of complex parts."
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Training on the robotic arm
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and NASA astronaut Kayla Barron during tracking and capture practice for the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Matthias posted this image to his social media channels on 7 February 2022 with the caption: "When we go to the Moon and explore even farther, we'll work hand-in-hand with robots. Last month Kayla and I brushed up on our Canadarm2 tracking and capture skills using the robotic workstation in the US Destiny lab. Canadarm2 and the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System both play a crucial role in berthing visiting vehicles and grappling external payloads on the US and Japanese modules. We also use Canadarm during spacewalks to transport spacewalkers and equipment."
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Sail of stars
The spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 3318 are lazily draped across this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This spiral galaxy lies in the constellation Vela and is roughly 115 light-years away from Earth. Vela was originally part of a far larger constellation, known as Argo Navis after the fabled ship Argo from Greek mythology, but this unwieldy constellation proved to be impractically large. Argo Navis was split into three separate parts called Carnina, Puppis, and Vela — each named after part of the Argo. As befits a galaxy in a nautically inspired constellation, the outer edges of NGC 3318 almost resemble a ship’s sails billowing in a gentle breeze.
Despite its placid appearance, NGC 3318 has played host to a spectacularly violent astronomical phenomenon, a titanic supernova first detected by an amateur astronomer in 2000. Thanks to NGC 3318’s distance from Earth, the original supernova must have taken place in or around 1885. Coincidentally, this was the year in which the only supernova ever to be detected in our neighbouring galaxy Andromeda was witnessed by 19th-century astronomers.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESO, R. J. Foley; CC BY 4.0 Acknowledgement: R. Colombari / eyevine
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Red velvet Mars
Red velvet Mars.
Like a sprinkle of powdered sugar on a rich red velvet cake, this scene from the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captures the contrasting colours of bright white water-ice against the rusty red martian soil.
This delightful image was taken 5 July 2021 and soaks in the view of a 4 km-wide crater in MarsÕ north polar region of Vastitas Borealis, centred at 70.6 ¡N/230.3¡E.
The crater is partially filled with water ice, which is also particularly predominant on its north-facing slopes that receive fewer hours of sunlight on average throughout the year.
The dark material clearly visible on the crater rim Ð giving it a somewhat scorched appearance Ð likely consists of volcanic materials such as basalt.
Most of the surrounding terrain is ice free, but has been shaped by ongoing aeolian processes. The streaks at the bottom right of the image are formed by winds that have removed the brighter iron oxide dust from the surface, exposing a slightly darker underlying substrate.
TGO arrived at Mars in 2016 and began its full science mission in 2018. The spacecraft is not only returning spectacular images, but also providing the best ever inventory of the planetÕs atmospheric gases, and mapping the planetÕs surface for water-rich locations. It will also provide data relay services for the second ExoMars mission comprising the Rosalind Franklin rover and Kazachok platform, when it arrives on Mars in 2023.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Webb liftoff on Ariane 5
Webb liftoff on Ariane 5.
The James Webb Space Telescope lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, at 13:20 CET on 25 December on its exciting mission to unlock the secrets of the Universe.
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Webb on Ariane 5 poised for launch
Webb on Ariane 5 poised for launch. The James Webb Space Telescope is safely stowed inside the fairing of ESAÕs Ariane 5 launch vehicle, which is now on the launch pad undergoing final checks and fuelling for a targeted liftoff at 12:20 GMT / 13:20 CET on 25 December from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
Webb will be the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international collaboration agreement, ESA is providing the telescopeÕs launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace.
Webb is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace / eyevine
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Smoke billows from fires in Turkey
Captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission on 30 July 2021, this image shows smoke billowing from several fires along the southern coast of Turkey. Turkey has been battling deadly wildfires since last week. Over the weekend, tourists and local residents had to be evacuated from Bodrum and Marmaris, with some fleeing by boat as the flames crept closer to the shoreline. Southeast Europe is currently experiencing extremely high temperatures. Greece is reported to be expecting an all-time European record today of 47¡C. The heatwave, the result of a heat dome, has seen temperatures reach above 40¡C in many areas, and meteorologists expect the weather will continue this week, making it the most severe heatwave since the 1980s.
Fires have also been raging in Spain, Italy and Greece, some of which have led to the Copernicus Emergency Mapping Service being triggered. The mapping service uses data from satellites to aid response to disasters such as wildfires and floods.
Credit: Copernicus Sentinel data (2021), processed by ESA / eyevine
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Hello Mercury
The joint European-Japanese BepiColombo mission captured this view of Mercury on 1 October 2021 as the spacecraft flew past the planet for a gravity assist manoeuvre.
The image was taken at 23:44:12 UTC by the Mercury Transfer ModuleÕs Monitoring Camera 2, when the spacecraft was about 2418 km from Mercury. Closest approach of about 199 km took place shortly before, at 23:34 UTC. In this view, north is towards the lower left. The cameras provide black-and-white snapshots in 1024 x 1024 pixel resolution.
The region shown is part of MercuryÕs northern hemisphere including Sihtu Planitia that has been flooded by lavas. A round area smoother and brighter than its surroundings characterizes the plains around the Calvino crater, which are called the Rudaki Plains.The 166 km-wide Lermontov crater is also seen, which looks bright because it contains features unique to Mercury called ÔhollowsÕ where volatile elements are escaping to space. It also contains a vent where volcanic explosions have occurred. BepiColombo will study these types of features once in orbit around the planet.
Credit: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine
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Sea garbage in quarantine
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer is here collecting garbage along the Space Coast of Florida admiring.
Matthias shared this image on his social media channels with the caption: "I've been relaxing during my quarantine by collecting rubbish on the beach. Sadly, this is not the only bag I filled. We really need to think about our environmental impact on Earth and in space. Clean oceans, clean space! It's up to all of us."
Credit: ESA - M. Maurer / eyevine
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Amalia the rover in Mars Terrain Simulator
Rosalind’s twin on Earth, known as Amalia, has successfully left the platform in a Mars terrain simulator at the ALTEC premises in Turin. The test model borrows its name from renowned astrophysicist Professor Amalia Ercoli Finzi. Amalia was the first woman to graduate in aeronautical engineering in Italy, and she strongly pushed for the development of the ExoMars drill already 20 years ago.
While the driving during these exercises takes Amalia about 15 minutes, the whole egress is a long and crucial operation that will last a few martian days for Rosalind Franklin the rover. After landing, the real rover will be busy for over a week unfolding its wheels and deploying the mast, among other checkouts.
Engineers are using the Amalia rover to recreate different scenarios and help them take decisions that will keep Rosalind safe in the challenging environment of Mars. The model is fully representative of what the rover will be able to do on the Red Planet.
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Blood disc for astronaut diagnosis
Specially designed to operate in weightlessness, this diagnostic disc can identify diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol from a single drop of astronaut blood.
Future long duration space missions beyond Earth orbit will see crews isolated as never before. Astronauts will have to be self-sufficient in healthcare as in everything else.
Developed through ESA’s General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) with Radisens Diagnostics in Ireland, this diagnostics device was designed for automated blood testing, overcoming processing difficulties due to microgravity by substituting centrifugal force.
A pinprick of blood is added to a mini-disc embedded with a wide variety of miniaturised test procedures. The disc is then inserted into the ‘point-of-care’ device and set spinning to spread the blood sample across the surface. Multiple tests can be performed simultaneously, with automated results delivered within a matter of minutes.
Credit: Radisens Diagnostics / eyevine
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Webb moved to meet Ariane 5
The James Webb Space Telescope was transferred to the final assembly building at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 7 December 2021, to meet its Ariane 5 launch vehicle.
Stowed inside a special 23-tonne transport container, Webb was protected and monitored throughout the transfer.
Ariane 5 was already moved to the same building on 29 November. Here, adjustable platforms allow engineers to access the launch vehicle and its payload.
The next steps are to hoist Webb to the upper platform which has been prepared so that Webb can be integrated on Ariane 5’s upper stage and then encapsulated inside Ariane 5’s specially adapted fairing.
Webb is scheduled for launch on 22 December from Europe’s Spaceport. Ground teams have already successfully completed the delicate operation of loading the spacecraft with the propellant it will use to steer itself while in space.
Webb will be the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international collaboration agreement, ESA is providing the telescope’s launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace.
Credit: P PIRON / ESA / CNES / Arianespace / eyevine
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Galileo satellites 27-28 liftoff
Galileo satellites 27 – 28 lifted off by Soyuz launcher VS26 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 01:19 CET on 5 December (4 December at 21:19 local Kourou time).
Credit: S MARTIN/ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Vidéo du CSG / eyevine
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Saarlandish potato soup
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer eats cream of potato soup developed by Saarland chef Christian Heinsdorf for Matthias's Cosmic Kiss mission. Matthias shared this special meal from his home region with his Expedition 66 crew mates in orbit using specially-design spoons as part of an investigation into into the antimicrobial properties of laser-structured surfaces.
Credit: ESA / NASA / eyevine
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Matthias Maurer in the Cupola
NASA astronaut Mark T. Vande Hei took this picture of ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer in the Cupola and tweeted: "Nope, thatís not an astronaut looking down on Mars Ö yet. That is Matthias Mauer, ESA astronaut @astro_matthias, taking pictures of the deserts of North Africa from the International Space Station."
Credit: NASAñ Mark T. Vande Hei / eyevine
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Tiny crystal of power
This crystal of iron pyrite, just four hundredths of a millimetre in size, could function as the light absorbing layer of a tiny solar cell – potentially a promising future source of power on the Moon.
Working with Estonia’s Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), ESA has studied the production of sandpaper-like rolls of such microcrystals as the basis of monograin-layer solar cells.
“We’re looking at these microcrystals in the context of future lunar settlement,” explains ESA advanced manufacturing engineer Advenit Makaya. “Future Moon bases will need to ‘live off the land’ in order to be sustainable, and the iron and sulphur needed to produce pyrite could be retrieved from the lunar surface.”
Dr. Taavi Raadik from TalTech explains: “Our aim is to develop technology for pyrite microcrystal growth and to use them in a monograin layer solar cell, where each tiny crystal would work as an individual solar cell. The amount of power generated by one miniscule solar cell is small but in the normal-sized module there would be billions of them – and in principle there is no limitation in terms of their size and shape. Additionally, we have the goal that all necessary source materials should be possible to harvest on the moon in-situ.”
TalTech PhD student Katriin Kristmann is having her work on this topic co-sponsored by TalTech and ESA’s Discovery & Preparation programme. She explains: “We are happy to work with that very ambitious project. Through this partnership we will have a chance to take Estonian science to the Moon.”
The project will include the opportunity for Katriin to make use of laboratory facilities at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands to perform detailed studies of crystal quality.
“This is only one of a range of in-situ resource utilisation methods that ESA has been researching for the Moon or further afield,” adds Advenit.
Power availability is an important factor in selecting the site of a fut
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White Nile, Sudan
A part of the White Nile state in Sudan is featured in this false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
Zoom in to see this image at its full 10 m resolution or click on the circles to learn more about the features in it.
White Nile is one of the 18 states of Sudan. Covering an area of around 40 000 sq km, the state is divided into four districts: Ad Douiem, Al Gutaina, Kosti and Al Jabalian. The area pictured here is located just north of Kosti, also spelled K?st?, which lies on the west bank of the White Nile River (not visible).
This false-colour image, captured on 25 August 2021, was processed in a way that also includes information from the near-infrared channel and shows vegetation in tones of red. This band combination is routinely used to monitor vegetation health. Although the area lies within an arid climatic region, low vegetation covering the valley floors between the sand dunes can be seen in bright shades of red.
Many agricultural plots can also be seen in red, particularly in the far-right and far-bottom of the image. Agriculture plays an important role in Sudan’s economy. The country’s main crops include cotton, peanuts, sesame and sugarcane, while the main subsistence crops include wheat, corn, sorghum and millet. Several small villages can also be spotted in the image, with many of them visible near artificial water reservoirs (easily spotted with their rectangular shape) and are most likely utilised during the dry season.
Owing to seasonal rainfall, many ephemeral bodies of water can be spotted in shades of turquoise and blue in the image.
Flooding is common in Sudan in August and September. During these months each year, monsoon rains pour into the Ethiopian Highlands and flow down to the Blue and White Nile and can often lead to floodwaters swamping nearby communities. Starting in August 2021, a series of torrential downpours overwhelmed streams and rivers and unleashed floods in the area, with the White N
Copernicus Sentinel data (2021), processed by ESA / eyevine -
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Groovy crater
This dramatic image of a 6 km diameter crater in the northern plains of Mars was captured by the CaSSIS camera on the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter during local evening when half the crater was in shadow.
Intriguing features can be seen both inside and outside the crater. During an impact event vast volumes of material are flung out of the central cavity, which may create radiating patterns like the grooves seen here extending away from the crater.
Inside the crater, material slumps towards the centre, while more recently formed gullies are evident on walls and rim.
The crater is located at 134°12'13.0"W/43°14'59.7"N.
TGO arrived at Mars in 2016 and began its full science mission in 2018. The spacecraft is not only returning spectacular images, but also providing the best ever inventory of the planet’s atmospheric gases, and mapping the planet’s surface for water-rich locations. It will also provide data relay services for the second ExoMars mission comprising the Rosalind Franklin rover and Kazachok platform, when it arrives on Mars in 2023.
Credit: ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / eyevine
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Mini-jet found near milky way’s supermassive black hole
Hubble has found circumstantial evidence that the black hole is still smoldering long after the earlier outburst. Hubble astronomers' evidence is like doing an archeological dig to try and peer through the interstellar pollution of dense sheets of dust and gas between Earth and the galactic center, 27,000 light-years away. Hubble photographed a bright knot of gas that has been impacted by an invisible jet from the black hole, that is merely 15 light-years from it. The black hole must have shown brilliantly billions of years ago as a quasar (quasi-stellar object), when our young galaxy was feeding on lots of infalling gas. But after all this time the black hole still goes through fits and starts, and is not ready for napping as long as there is a snack around.
This image presents a composite view of X-rays, molecular gas, and warm ionized gas near the galactic center. The graphic of a translucent, vertical white fan is added to show the suggested axis of a mini-jet from the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s heart. The orange-colored features are of glowing hydrogen gas. One such feature, at the top tip of the jet is interpreted as a hydrogen cloud that has been hit by the outflowing jet. The jet scatters off the cloud into tendrils that flow northward. Farther down near the black hole are X-ray observations of superheated gas colored blue and molecular gas in green. These data are evidence that the black hole occasionally accretes stars or gas clouds, and ejects some of the superheated material along its spin axis.
Credit: NASA, ESA, Gerald Cecil (UNC-Chapel Hill), J. DePasquale (STScI); CC BY 4.0 / eyevine
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Sayram Lake, China
Images of the Xinjiang region in northwest China by ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer on board the International Space Station. Matthias posted these images to his social media channels on 1 February 2022 with the caption: "????! Happy New Year Shenzhou-13 Crew 2022 is the Year of the Tiger. It's said that children born in the coming year will be energetic, natural leaders who love to take risks – I wonder if they'll also be space explorers"
Credit: NASA/ESA-M.Maurer; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 / eyevine
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Icy cliff
A jagged slice in a crater wall on Mars stands out brightly against the darker terrain in this image taken by the CaSSIS camera on the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter at 7pm local time on 1 May 2021.
Despite the low light in this late evening image, several north-facing icy scarps are distinctly visible because of their covering of bright white carbon dioxide frost. The frost disappears in spring, but remains late on these scarps because of their pole-facing orientation.
This 11 km diameter crater is located in the northern plains of Mars at 55¡16'51.6"N/106¡25'3.4"W, north of Alba Mons.
TGO arrived at Mars in 2016 and began its full science mission in 2018. The spacecraft is not only returning spectacular images, but also providing the best ever inventory of the planetÕs atmospheric gases, and mapping the planetÕs surface for water-rich locations. It will also provide data relay services for the second ExoMars mission comprising the Rosalind Franklin rover and Kazachok platform, when it arrives on Mars in 2023.
Credit: Roscosmos/CaSSIS, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO / ESA / eyevine
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Back on Earth
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet poses as he's spending his first days back on Earth after his Mission Alpha aboard the International Space Station.
Thomas shared this image on his social media channels with the caption: "tÕs good to be back. The last 72 hours have been simply incredible, so much action and so much change in so little time. I barely now start realising IÕm back from 6 months in space... and IÕm starting to process how amazing the journey was."
Credit: T. Pesquet / ESA / eyevine
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Ariane 5 moved to meet Webb
The Ariane 5 launch vehicle which will launch the James Webb Space Telescope was moved to the final assembly building at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 29 November 2021.
Ariane 5 parts shipped from Europe to French Guiana, have been coming together inside the launch vehicle integration building (pictured).
The lower part of the Ariane 5 comprises the cryogenic main core stage (with the Vulcain main engine, oxygen and hydrogen tanks), two solid rocket boosters and the upper composite, including the cryogenic upper stage (with the HM7B engine, oxygen and hydrogen tanks), the vehicle equipment bay – the brain of the launcher, and all supporting structures that will interface with Webb on its adaptor.
A launch table is used to transport the Ariane 5 vehicle between the launch vehicle integration building, the final assembly building and the launch pad.
Webb, now fuelled, will soon be integrated on Ariane 5’s upper stage and then encapsulated inside Ariane 5’s specially adapted fairing.
Webb will be the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international collaboration agreement, ESA is providing the telescope’s launch service using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and qualification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the launch service by Arianespace.
Credit: P BAUDON/ESA/CNES/Arianespace / eyevine
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Looking four-ward to launch
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is all smiles alongside her Crew-4 mates during a training session at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, USA.
Samantha is the next ESA astronaut to fly to space and is expected to be launched to the International Space Station in spring 2022. This is the second mission for Samantha who spent approximately 200 days in space in 2015 for her Futura mission.
Samantha is launching with familiar faces. Fellow mission specialist Jessica Watkins was part of NASAÕs NEEMO 23 crew, in which Samantha served as commander. The team spent 10 days living and working at the world's only undersea research station, Aquarius, located 19 m below the surface of the ocean off the coast of Florida.
Upon hearing the announcement, Samantha tweeted her congratulations, saying: ÒSo proud of you, Watty! After sharing the @NASA_NEEMO adventure on NEEMO23, IÕm grateful to have you as a crewmate again on #Crew4. It will be fun!Ó
Rounding off Crew-4 are NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren as the commander and Bob ÒFarmerÓ Hines as pilot of their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. This is KjellÕs second flight and BobÕs first.
Samantha is the third European astronaut to launch on SpaceX, after Thomas Pesquet in early 2021 and current ESA astronaut-in-space Matthias Maurer in late 2021.
Training for SamanthaÕs second mission has included International Space Station refresher sessions at ESAÕs European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, NASAÕs Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and RoscosmosÕs Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Moscow.
Credit: NASA/SpaceX / eyevine
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Galileo satellites placed on Soyuz launcher
UPDATE: GALILEO LAUNCH NOW SCHEDULED FOR 3 DECEMBER AT 01:27 CET (2 DECEMBER 21:27 KOUROU TIME)
This is the moment that Galileo satellites 27–28 – enclosed along with their Fregat upper stage within their protective fairing – were placed on top of the other three stages of their Soyuz launcher, ahead of the liftoff set to take place on the night of 1-2 December.
Galileo satellites 27 – 28 are scheduled to be launched by a Soyuz launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 2 December at 01:31 CET (1 December at 21:31 local Kourou time). Follow the launch live on ESA Web TV Two from 0104 CET.
Credit: P BAUDON-ESA-CNES-Arianespace Optique Video du CSG / eyevine
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