@europeanspaceagency

Vote for your favourite image 🌀 1️⃣ Phantom Galaxy across the spectrum. 2️⃣ Hubble gazes into M74 3️⃣ Heart of the Phantom Galaxy 📹 @europeanspaceagency 📸 ESA/ @esawebb, @nasa & @canadianspaceagency , J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team; ESA/ @hubbleesa & NASA, R. Chandar Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt 📸 ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar; @creativecommons CC BY 4.0 📸 ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team #ESAReels #WebbSeesFarther #Universe #Hubble #Pisces #PhantomGalaxy #JamesWebbSpaceTelescope #Webb #HST #NASA #CanadianSpaceAgency

As our friends from @nasa say, safety is always first. ☝️ The Artemis I mission didn’t lift off on its first launch attempt on Monday 29 August 2022 after @nasaartemis teams encounter an issue. Teams need to analyse all the data to confirm a new launch attempt. Currently, two more dates are available: Friday 2 September and Monday 5 September. Orion is the only spacecraft capable of human spaceflight outside Earth orbit and high-speed reentry from the vicinity of the Moon. More than just a crew module, Orion includes the European Service Module (ESM), the powerhouse that fuels and propels Orion. ESM provides for all astronauts’ basic needs, such as water, oxygen, nitrogen, temperature control, power and propulsion. Much like a train engine pulls passenger carriages and supplies power, the European Service Module will take the Orion capsule to its destination and back. 📸 ESA-S. Corvaja #ForwardToTheMoon #ExploreFarther #Artemis #Orion #Artemis1 #ESM #EuropeanServiceModule #SLS #SpaceLaunchSystem

Hubble Time! 🌌 The galaxy featured in this image has a shape unlike many of the galaxies familiar to @hubbleesa. Its thousands of bright stars evoke a spiral galaxy, but it lacks the characteristic ‘winding’ structure. The shining red blossoms stand out as well, twisted by clouds of dust — these are the locations of intense star formation. Yet it also radiates a diffuse glow, much like an elliptical galaxy and its core of older, redder stars. This galactic marvel is known to astronomers as NGC 1156. NGC 1156 is located around 25 million light-years from Earth, in the constellation Aries. It has a variety of different features that are of interest to astronomers. A dwarf irregular galaxy, it’s also classified as isolated, meaning no other galaxies are nearby enough to influence its odd shape and continuing star formation. The extreme energy of freshly formed young stars gives colour to the galaxy, against the red glow of ionised hydrogen gas, while its centre is densely-packed with older generations of stars. Hubble has captured NGC 1156 before — this new image features data from a galactic gap-filling programme simply titled “Every Known Nearby Galaxy”. Astronomers noticed that only three quarters of the galaxies within just over 30 million light-years of Earth had been observed by Hubble in sufficient detail to study the makeup of the stars within them. They proposed that in between larger projects, Hubble could take snapshots of the remaining quarter — including NGC 1156. Gap-filling programmes like this one ensure that the best use is made of Hubble’s valuable observing time. 📸 @europeanspaceagency / @hubbleesa & @NASA, R. B. Tully, R. Jansen, R. Windhorst; @creativecommons CC BY 4.0 #Hubble #NGC1156 #Galaxy #Aries

We are ready! 🚀 🌙 *UPDATE: launch has been scrubbed on 29 August. Waiting for updates to confirm new launch attempt. * The Orion spacecraft with integrated European Service Module sit atop the Space Launch System, at historic Launchpad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. The Flight Readiness Review has deemed the trio GO for launch, marking the dawn of a new era in space exploration. The first in a series of missions that will return humans to the Moon, including taking the first European, Artemis I is scheduled for launch no earlier than Monday 29 August, at 14:33 CEST. This mission will put @nasa’s spacecraft and our European Service Module to the test during a journey beyond the Moon and back. No crew will be on board Orion this time, and the spacecraft will be controlled by teams on Earth. The crew module, however, won’t be empty. Two mannequins, named Helga and Zohar, will occupy the passenger seats. Their female-shaped plastic bodies are filled with over 5600 sensors each to measure the radiation load during their trip around the Moon. The specially trained woolly astronaut, @shaunthesheep, has also been assigned a seat. The spacecraft will enter lunar orbit using the Moon’s gravity to gain speed and propel itself almost half a million km from Earth – farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever travelled. The second Artemis mission will see four astronauts travel around the Moon on a flyby voyage around our natural satellite. Mission duration depends on the launch date and even time. It will last between 20 to 40 days, depending on how many orbits of the Moon mission designers decide to make. This flexibility in mission length is necessary to allow the mission to end as intended with a splashdown during daylight hours in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California, USA. Two more dates are available if a launch on 29 August is not possible. The Artemis Moon mission can also be launched on 2 September and 5 September. Watch launch coverage on ESA Web TV starting at 12:30 CEST here. 📸 ESA-A. Conigli 📸 ESA-S. Corvaja #ForwardToTheMoon #ExploreFarther #Artemis #Orion #Artemis1 #ESM #EuropeanServiceModule

Choose your song for this cosmic dance 💃 🕺 Our astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has been observing active aurorae aboard the @iss during her Minerva Mission. In her words: "The Sun has been really active lately. Last week we saw the most stunning auroras I have ever experienced in over 300 days in space!" 📸 @europeanspaceagency / @nasa - S.Cristoforetti #Aurora #InternationalSpaceStation #Earth #MissionMinerva #EarthFromSpace #SamanthaCristoforetti

Do you know what a Jill is❓ 🐑 @shaunthesheep has been assigned a seat on the Artemis I mission to the Moon in this weekly series we follow the intrepid wooly astronaut during his training sessions. Astronauts on space missions have to be ‘Jacks-of-all-trades’ (or Jills). Shaun the Sheep is no exception and, like any space traveller, he was trained with the astronauts’ toolbox of knowledge for the first Artemis mission. This included life and physical sciences in ‘weightless’ conditions, engineering and medical skills, as well as orbital mechanics and survival training. To learn how to monitor all the experiments and keep a space lab running, astronauts from around the world receive hands-on (or hoofs-on) training in mockups at the European Astronaut Centre – the home-base for European astronauts in Cologne, Germany. The centre has a variety of training tools and facilities to support crew training. Astronauts can rehearse normal operations, learn to recover from malfunctions and practice to replace faulty equipment on board. Shaun the Sheep was trained in a full-size mock-up of the Columbus laboratory. Columbus is Europe’s largest contribution to the @iss. Since 2008, this multifunctional module has been producing a wealth of scientific data across a range of disciplines. Our training team in Cologne put Shaun through his paces, getting him to know every corner of Europe’s Columbus lab as a good basis for the Artemis I mission. Follow Shaun's training for Artemis I and preparations for the first European Service Module flight to the Moon on blogs.esa.int/orion/ 📸 ESA/Aardman - @sarahjanemuirheadphotography #ShaunTheSheep #ForwardToTheMoon, #ExploreFarther #Artemis #AstronautTraining

Space gardening, for science! 🥬 Growing food in space feeds our cosmic explorers but also teaches us the mechanisms plants use to survive in stressful environments. Learning to live and work in space aboard the space station 24/7/365 for more than 22 years has led us to new technologies and new questions. Benefit 5: What we’re discovering aboard station allows humankind to challenge itself to move forward and explore new frontiers even deeper into space, while also helping back on Earth. For example, the increase of core body temperature during exercise on station lead to the development of a device now used to monitor infant incubators, patients during surgery, and fatigue in firefighters. Technology developments like clothing that can monitor the body’s vital signs originated on station and can be used for athletes, patients, and workers back on Earth. Living and working in space dares humankind to build technology faster, use tools differently, and even grow food in new ways. Want more? Check out the 2022 Benefits for Humanity Publication at nasa.gov/stationbenefits #SpaceStation #NASA #ESA #SpaceExploration #international #research #science #technology #stem #microgravity #plants #veggies #astronaut #exploration #agriculture #gardening #iss

Hubble Time! 🌌 This scintillating image showcases the globular cluster NGC 6540 in the constellation Sagittarius, which was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. These two instruments have slightly different fields of view — which determines how large an area of sky each instrument captures. This composite image shows the star-studded area of sky that was captured in both instruments’ field of view. NGC 6540 is a globular cluster, a stable, tightly bound multitude of stars. The populations of these clusters can range from tens of thousands to millions of stars, all of which are trapped in a closely-packed group by their mutual gravitational attraction. The brightest stars in this image are adorned with prominent cross-shaped patterns of light known as diffraction spikes. These astronomical embellishments are a type of imaging artefact, meaning that they are caused by the structure of Hubble rather than the stars themselves. The path taken by the starlight as it enters the telescope is slightly disturbed by its internal structure, causing bright objects to be surrounded by spikes of light. Hubble peered into the heart of NGC 6540 to help astronomers measure the ages, shapes, and structures of globular clusters towards the centre of the Milky Way. The gas and dust shrouding the centre of our galaxy block some of the light from these clusters, as well as subtly changing the colours of their stars. Globular clusters contain insights into the earliest history of the Milky Way, and so studying them can help astronomers understand how our galaxy has evolved. 📸 @europeanspaceagency / @hubbleesa & @NASA, R. Cohen; @creativecommons CC BY 4.0 #Hubble #NGC6540 #StarClusters #Sagittarius

How are you doing down there Cologne❓ Water levels on the Rhine River, Europe’s second-largest river, have continued to drop owing to soaring temperatures and lack of rainfall, preventing many vessels from navigating through the waters at full capacity. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured part of the Rhine River near Cologne – showing the stark difference between August 2021 and August 2022. Flowing from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea, the Rhine River is an important shipping route for many products from grains to chemicals to coal. When water levels drop, cargo vessels need to sail with reduced load, so they don’t run aground. Water levels at the chokepoint of Kaub, near Frankfurt, fell to 32 cm in depth on Monday, down from 42 cm last week. Ships, however, need around 1.5 m to be able to sail fully loaded making it difficult for larger ships to navigate through the waters. Freight ships continue to sail, but only with around 25% to 35% of the ship’s capacity. The low water levels are emerging earlier than usual, with the lowest water levels typically recorded in September or October. However, reduced temperatures and predicted rainfall forecasted for this week may offer relief to the Rhine. The phenomenon facing the Rhine is common across much of Europe after an unusually hot and dry summer – causing wildfires and water shortages. 📸 contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2021-22), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO #RhineRiver #Cologne #Germany #Europe #Drought #ClimateChange

We are in love with our Moon 🤩 @nasaartemis wants you to share your #NASAMoonSnap and we are summiting this image taken by our astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti from orbit during her Minerva mission. It is a sight rarely seen: Earth’s natural satellite appearing over the horizon above the always-distinctive Nile delta at night -- taken from 400 km above our planet. The brighter dot in the middle is the planet Venus. The Moon is the only place that has been seen by every human being on our planet, but only around 600 astronauts have seen the Moon from Earth orbit. NASA’s Moon snap project is inviting people all over the world to share their Moon art to be featured during the launch coverage of the Artemis I mission, the first human-rated spacecraft to fly to the Moon in over fifty years. This image does not need to be featured on the day of the Artemis launch; our European Service Module will be featured heavily already as the powerhouse that will drive the Orion spacecraft to the Moon and back. Samantha is circling our planet around 400 km above, but Orion will travel over 1250 times farther afield, more than half a million kilometres from its launchpad at @nasakennedy in Florida, USA. Join the celebrations as humankind explores farther and submit your art for NASA Moon snap, and watch the Artemis I launch, the first launch opportunity is on 29 August 2022! 📸 @europeanspaceagency / @nasa - S.Cristoforetti #NASAMoonSnap #Moon #Luna #Earth #MissionMinerva #ForwardToTheMoon #SamanthaCristoforetti

Keeping up with Shaun the Sheep 🌕 🐑 @shaunthesheep has been assigned a seat on the Artemis I mission to the Moon in this weekly series we follow the intrepid wooly astronaut during his training sessions. Shaun got exclusive access to the Large Diameter Centrifuge based at our technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. This spinning device is devoted to research that gives scientists access to high acceleration levels for minutes, days or even weeks on end. Shaun the Sheep took a spin in this centrifuge to recreate the forces felt on launch and landing. He experienced peak loads of up to 8 g! Although the gondola has no windows, astronauts don’t have a sense of the rotation, but feel the pressure within their body. During each spin and through the breaks, the astronaut’s vestibular system is shaken. This training is there to hopefully help them avoid any motion sickness during the ride in space. There are many technical challenges when planning missions to the Moon and beyond, but maybe the most important question is: what should the astronauts have for dinner? Diet plays an important role in maintaining physical and mental wellbeing, especially during long-duration missions on the @iss. Astronauts exercise for at least two hours a day, six days a week, to combat muscle and bone loss caused by extended stays in microgravity, and they must eat specially prepared and nutritionally balanced meals. An average astronaut will typically have three meals every day in space and is expected to consume around 2500-3000 calories per day. For our astronauts, two thirds of this calorie intake comes from the basic food supply that is preselected and prepacked by @nasa for the entire space mission. The final third of their calories comes from ‘crew choice meals’ – food that the astronauts choose for themselves, either from the US menu or a range of European, Russian and Japanese options. Follow Shaun's training for Artemis I and preparations for the first European Service Module flight to the Moon on blogs.esa.int/orion/ 📸 ESA/Aardman - @sarahjanemuirheadphotography #ShaunTheSheep #ForwardToTheMoon, #ExploreFarther #Artemis #AstronautTraining

New mission patch alert‼️ 📢 @astro_andreas will be returning to the @iss in 2023 for his first long-duration Station mission, Huginn! Taking its name from Norse mythology, Huginn is a raven accomplice of the god Odin that flies across the world each day to gather knowledge, returning it by night. In much the same way, Andreas will conduct cutting-edge science during his time on orbit, delivering advances in medicine, materials science, climate science and more for the benefit of everyone down here on Earth. The mission patch itself, designed by our graphic designer Karen Lochtenberg, is rendered in the red and white of the Danish flag, alongside our own ‘Deep Space Blue’. The raven Huginn is depicted flying to the right, moving into the future as he glides over an Earth-rise horizon, which could also be seen as the Moon or Mars. His wing includes shading in the shape of Andreas’s homeland, Denmark, while the white of the wing’s highlight – referred to by the designer as the ‘swoosh’ – depicts the journey to the Space Station itself from Andreas’ birthplace in Copenhagen. Two stripes on Huginn’s back depict the distinctive solar arrays of the Station, and represent that this is Andreas’s second Station mission. Six stars adorning the sky of this patch form a constellation that resembles the Viking symbol for 'safe travels'. 📸 @europeanspaceagency 🖥 ESA - @kaatje_karen #AndreasMogensen #Huginn #ReadyForFlight #Astronaut #AstronautPatch

There's a butterfly on Mars! 🔴 🦋 These images, taken by our Mars Express spacecraft, show a large elliptical impact crater in the Hesperia Planum region of Mars. The crater measures approximately 24.4 km long, 11.2 km wide and reaching a maximum depth of approximately 650 metres below the surrounding plains. Ejecta from this impact can be seen extending away from the crater, including two prominent lobes of material north-west and south-east of the crater. The large circular feature, partly cut off by the border of the image, has a diameter of roughly 45 km. This appears to be an impact crater that was subsequently resurfaced by lava flows, preserving the outline of the underlying crater. The curving features visible in the north of the image, known as ‘wrinkle ridges’, are caused by compressional tectonics. While the majority of impact craters are relatively circular, the elliptical shape of this impact crater suggests a very low impact angle (less than 10º). The long axis of the impact crater is viewed as the impacting direction of the projectile. Similar elliptical craters are observed elsewhere on Mars, as well as on our Moon. 📸 @europeanspaceagency/ @germanaerospacecenter/ @fu_berlin; @creativecommons CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO 📸 @NASA/MGS/MOLA Science Team #Mars #RedPlanet #MarsExpress #CreativeCommons

The first image from BepiColombo’s second Mercury flyby is here! 🤩 The #Esa/ @jaxajp BepiColombo mission captured this beautiful view of Mercury’s rich geological landscape on 23 June 2022 as the spacecraft flew past the planet for its second of six gravity assist manoeuvres at Mercury. Parts of the spacecraft can also be seen in the image with the magnetometer boom roughly following the ‘terminator’– the boundary between the night and day side of the planet. Large impact craters can clearly be made out along with other geological features such as smooth plains and scarps. Once in orbit at the end of 2025, the BepiColombo mission will study all aspects of the innermost planet to better understand the origin and evolution of a planet close to its parent star. 📸 ESA/BepiColombo/MTM, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO #ESA #JAXA #Mercury #MercuryFlyby #CreativeCommons

Who would you take to an island❓ 🏝 With different shapes and sizes, islands look remarcable against the blue backdrop of water when seen from the @iss. Here's a colection of images taken over the years by our astronauts: 1️⃣ Lanzarote, La Graciosa, Alegranza and Montaña Clara 2️⃣ Cyprus 3️⃣ Galapagos Islands 4️⃣ Oahu 5️⃣ Tiburón Island 6️⃣ Chesterfield Islands 7️⃣ Garden Island, Lake Michigan 📸 @europeanspaceagency / @NASA - S. Cristoforetti 📸 ESA/NASA - @thom_astro 📸 ESA/NASA - T. Pesquet 📸 ESA/NASA - @astro_timpeake 📸 ESA/NASA - S. Cristoforetti 📸 ESA/NASA - T. Pesquet 📸 ESA/NASA - T. Pesquet #Earth #EarthFromSpace #Islands #NeverStopExploring