Tag: European Space Agency

GHGSat Joins ESA’s Third Party Mission Programme

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BONN, Germany (ESA PR) — GHGSat, a leader in high-resolution greenhouse gas monitoring from space, has officially joined ESA’s prestigious Third Party Mission Programme. Announced today at the Living Planet Symposium currently taking place in Bonn, data from the company’s fleet of commercial satellites will be provided, free of charge, to researchers working in the fields of Earth science and climate change. Users will be able to access greenhouse gas measurements from sites all around the world.

Through ESA’s Third Party Missions Programme, ESA allows high quality data from a wide range of Earth observation satellite missions developed and operated by other agencies to be accessed to the wider scientific community. The programme, which has been operating for over 45 years, includes over 60 instruments on more than 50 space missions.

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Thales Alenia Space, OHB System Partner, Reaches Key Milestone in Development of Copernicus CO2M satellites

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Thales Alenia Space CO2M satellite (Image Credit: Thales Alenia Space)

Cannes (Thales Alenia Space PR) –  Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed an amendment to its CO2M contract worth €169 million with project prime contractor OHB System for the development and qualification of the payloads for the first two satellites in the CO2M mission, part of Europe’s Copernicus program. Copernicus is the core satellite Earth-observation program of the European Commission and a cornerstone of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) activities in this field, providing Earth observation data for environmental protection, climate monitoring, natural disaster assessment and other social tasks. 

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ICEYE Announces Agreement with European Space Agency to Support Copernicus Emergency Services with Flood Insights

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Leveraging the world’s largest synthetic aperture radar constellation, ICEYE will provide ESA with active flood hazard data before, during and after large-scale flood events

HELSINKI (ICEYE PR) — ICEYE, the global leader in satellite driven persistent monitoring and an expert in natural catastrophe solutions, today announced the start of a pilot activity with the European Space Agency (ESA) to support the Copernicus Emergency Management Services (CEMS) team with flood insights. Through the pilot, ICEYE will deliver critical flood impact information showing the extent and depth of flooding at the structure level to ESA and CEMS throughout 2022. The pilot will allow CEMS to evaluate ICEYE’s flood insights and explore potential applications.

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NASA, Partners Offer Global View of Environmental Changes

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NASA, ESA, and JAXA have created a tri-agency dashboard that combines their resources, technical knowledge and expertise to strengthen our global understanding of the changing environment and its economic effects. (Image Credit: NASA)

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Continuing the collaboration that produced the COVID-19 Earth Observing Dashboard in 2020, NASA and its international partners in Europe and Japan have combined the collective scientific power of their Earth-observing satellite data in expanding the online resource to document a broad array of planet-wide changes in the environment and human society.

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ESA Spurs Investment in Space Entrepreneurs

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BERLIN, Germany (ESA PR) — Dozens of people who have set up start-up companies and fledgling businesses are pitching their ideas to investors today, as part of an ESA Investor Forum held in Berlin.

The forum is part of ESA’s efforts to encourage private investment in space – bringing Europe closer to the levels seen in the US – and to promote innovation by fast-moving private companies.

Many of the entrepreneurs have nurtured their businesses in ESA’s various business incubation centres in Austria, Germany and Poland. Others have received business advice and financial support from ESA.

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Smarter Satellites: ESA Discovery Accelerates AI in Space

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Demonstrating the potential of AI for Earth observation, ɸ-sat-1 is an artificial intelligence experiment carries on the Federated Satellite Systems (FSSCat) mission. (Credit: ESA)

PARIS (ESA PR) — Could we capitalise on the Earth-based digital revolution to make our satellites smarter?

ESA Discovery is funding 12 projects that will explore the potential of applying the latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing paradigms to make satellites more reactive, agile and autonomous. This could generate new practical applications that support life on Earth and our exploration of other planets.

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Mynaric and Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Inc. Sign Contract for Laser Communication Demonstration on ISS Bartolomeo Platform

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Bartolomeo platform on the International Space Station. (Credit: Mynaric)

Airbus’s payload hosting platform to demonstrate Mynaric’s laser communication product on the International Space Station 

HOUSTON, May 12, 2022 – Mynaric (NASDAQ: MYNA)(FRA: M0Y) and Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Inc. have signed a contract to host Mynaric’s CONDOR Mk2 terminal for space-based laser communication on the International Space Station’s (ISS) functional testbed, Bartolomeo. Mynaric plans to operate its industrialized optical communications terminal on the ISS, with the goal of demonstrating the product’s capabilities in low Earth orbit and providing its customers with an extended range of experimental mission scenarios.  

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Arkadia Space Partners with ArianeGroup to Investigate Green Space Vehicle Concepts for ESA

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  • Arkadia Space is part of the industrial consortium, led by ArianeGroup to investigate future space transportation solutions to be exploited in the period 2030-2050, with strong emphasis in sustainability.
  • The conclusions of the study will pave the way for the new green technology roadmaps in the field of propulsion and space transportation in Europe.
  • Arkadia Space has a relevant participation in the overall contract with a leading role in the assessment of green in space transportation concepts and their associated propellants.

BENLLOCH, Spain May 12, 2022 (Arkadia Space PR) — Arkadia Space and ArianeGroup have partnered together to study and define new concepts for “Ultra Green Launch & Space Transportation Systems” for the European Space Agency – ESA.

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Global Citizen Science Project Finds Over 1700 Asteroid Trails in Hubble Images

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[Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Kruk (ESA/ESTEC), Hubble Asteroid Hunter citizen science team, M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble)]

PARIS (ESA PR) — Combining artificial intelligence with many keen human eyes, astronomers have found 1,701 new asteroid trails in archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, consisting of more than 37,000 images that span two decades. The project reflects both Hubble’s value to scientists as an asteroid hunter and how the public can effectively contribute to citizen science initiatives.

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NASA, ESA Astronauts Safely Return to Earth

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From left to right, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthais Maurer, NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, are seen inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX Shannon recovery ship shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Florida, Friday, May 6, 2022. Maurer, Marshburn, Chari, and Barron are returning after 177 days in space as part of Expeditions 66 and 67 aboard the International Space Station. (Credits: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts aboard the Dragon Endurance spacecraft safely splashed down Friday in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida, completing the agency’s third long-duration commercial crew mission to the International Space Station. The international crew of four spent 177 days in orbit.

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NASA Invites Comment on Initial Plans for Mars Sample Return Program

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Lockheed Martin will lead development of the Mars Ascent Vehicle (pictured), cruise stage for the Mars Sample Retrieval Lander, and the Earth Entry System that will help return the first ever Martian rock samples to Earth. (Credit: NASA)

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA is requesting public comment on the scope of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the agency’s proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. Comments will be accepted through the mail and online through Monday, May 16, 2022.

The agency also is hosting two virtual public meetings about the proposed program at 3 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, and 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 5, 2022, at:

https://jpl.webex.com/meet/msr

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Minerva Mission Begins as Samantha Cristoforetti Arrives at Space Station

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ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti shows off her yellow and white striped socks aboard the space station. The PGTIDE experiment tests a fully degradable detergent specifically for cleaning clothes (including socks) in space. (Credits: NASA)

PARIS (ESA PR) — Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom, carrying ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and her NASA colleagues Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines and Jessica Watkins, docked to the International Space Station at 01:37 CEST Thursday 28 April.

The docking marks the start of Samantha’s second space mission, known as Minerva.

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Crew-4 Arrives at International Space Station

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Crew-4 arrives at the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA astronauts Mission Commander Kjell Lindgren, Pilot Bob Hines, and Mission Specialist Jessica Watkins, and Mission Specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) now are aboard the International Space Station following Crew Dragon’s hatch opening about 9:15 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, April 27.

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Vega-C: Launcher Integration Begins for Inaugural Flight VV21

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The Vega-C Interstage 1/2 has now been transferred to and integrated at the Vega Launch Zone (Zone de Lancement Vega) ZLV at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on 22 April 2022. (Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P Baudon)

KOUROU, French Guiana (ESA PR) — Launcher integration for the inaugural flight of Vega-C began with the P120C solid-fuel first stage being delivered to the Vega Launch Zone (Zone de Lancement Vega, or ZLV) at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on 15 April 2022. P120C will also fly on Ariane 6, with two or four units serving as boosters depending on mission requirements.

The interstage segment to join the P120C first stage with the Z40 second stage followed on the 22nd.

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 Astronauts Launch to International Space Station

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti onboard, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Credits: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Mission Update

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts are in orbit following their launch to the International Space Station at 3:52 a.m. EDT Wednesday, April 27, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The international crew of astronauts will serve as the fourth commercial crew rotation mission aboard the space station.

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