The venerable Hubble Space Telescope continues to redefine our understanding of the cosmos as it celebrates an extraordinary milestone this week – 35 years of uninterrupted observation from Earth orbit. To mark the occasion, NASA and the European Space Agency have released a collection of stunning new images showcasing Hubble’s remarkable capabilities, from detailed observations … Read more
Time moves differently in space – and a revolutionary European timepiece launched this week will prove it with unprecedented precision. The Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) successfully reached orbit on April 21, launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The mission puts the most accurate timekeeping system ever sent … Read more
Satellite data has revealed that sea surface temperatures are rising at an increasingly rapid pace, with warming rates now 4.5 times faster than observed in the late 1980s, according to a newly published study. The research, published in Environmental Research Letters, found that between 1985 and 1989, sea surface temperatures rose by a modest 0.06°C … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope has detected telltale signatures of a supermassive black hole lurking in the heart of galaxy M83, a discovery that challenges decades of assumptions about our galactic neighbor. Using Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), astronomers identified highly ionized neon gas in M83’s nucleus – specifically the emission lines of [Ne V] and … Read more
On March 12, 2025, ESA’s Hera spacecraft pulled off something pretty special—a rare close flyby of Mars and its tiny moon Deimos. The spacecraft flew just 5,000 kilometers above the Martian surface and skimmed within 300 kilometers of Deimos. During the pass, Hera’s Asteroid Framing Camera captured stunning footage, later enhanced with color to highlight known surface features. The result? A rare and breathtaking look at these two distant worlds.
European Space Agency engineers have developed a revolutionary antenna technology that could dramatically reduce the complexity, weight and power consumption of next-generation communication systems. The innovation leverages the natural symmetry of antenna arrays to eliminate half the components typically needed in beamforming systems. Tested in ESA’s echo-free chamber that simulates the vacuum of space, the … Read more
Scientists have discovered that Mars’ iconic rust-red appearance likely developed in a wetter environment than previously thought, challenging a longstanding theory about the planet’s geological history. For decades, researchers believed the Red Planet got its distinctive hue from anhydrous hematite, an iron oxide that forms in dry conditions. But a new study published in Nature … Read more
In a vast warehouse in Cologne, Germany, astronauts are walking on the Moon without ever leaving Earth. The European Space Agency’s LUNA facility, a 700-square-metre terrain filled with 900 tonnes of artificial lunar dust, is now combining physical simulation with virtual reality to prepare humans for returning to the lunar surface. The stark contrast between … Read more
Not Affiliated with the European Space Agency, Just Covering It