ESO Top News

Suit up and get ready to launch on your own amazingly realistic Moon mission! Available now in Fortnite, Lunar Horizons is a vividly immersive experience set on the Moon during a future international mission. Released on 11 April 2024, the game was created by Epic Games, ESA and Hassell, in collaboration with Buendea and Team PWR.

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows the delta of the Ebro River on the northeast coast of Spain.

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Sophie Adenot is one of ESA's five astronaut candidates currently undergoing basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. Tune in as she shares her experiences in astronaut training, her favourite lessons, as well as tips on maintaining the balance and achieving your dreams.

This is Episode 6 of our ESA Explores podcast series introducing the ESA astronaut class of 2022, recorded in November 2023.

Music and audio editing by Denzel Lorge. Cover art by Gaël Nadaud.

Access all ESA Explores podcasts.

Image: Blowtorch effect of satellite reentry

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ESA’s Proba-2 captured two partial solar eclipses on 8 April 2024. 

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, totally or partially blocking the Sun from Earth’s point of view. On 8 April, lucky viewers across North America witnessed the Moon blocking out the Sun in its entirety for a few minutes, while those north and south of the ‘total eclipse path’ witnessed a partial eclipse.  

Throughout the eclipse period, the Moon crossed Proba-2’s field of view twice, appearing as a partial solar eclipse. The satellite flies around 700 km above Earth’s surface in what is called a Sun-synchronous orbit, each orbit lasting around 100 minutes.  

The video was produced from images taken by Proba-2’s SWAP telescope, which observes the Sun in extreme ultraviolet light. At these wavelengths, the turbulent nature of the Sun's surface and corona – the Sun's extended atmosphere – become visible. These measurements have to be made from space, because Earth’s atmosphere doesn’t allow such short wavelengths of light to pass through. 

A total solar eclipse provides a unique opportunity to see the Sun’s corona from Earth's surface, using visible light. As the Moon blocks most of the Sun’s bright light, the faint corona can be discerned. By comparing the SWAP ultraviolet images to what is seen by (visible light) telescopes on Earth, we can learn about the temperature and behaviour of different structures in the corona.  

Other solar missions also made the most of the unique measurement opportunities provided by the eclipse. For example, ESA’s Solar Orbiter was positioned close to the Sun and at a 90-degree angle from Earth’s view throughout the eclipse. This allowed it to complement Earth-based observations by monitoring the Sun’s corona side-on, including any solar eruptions pointing in Earth’s direction.

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A total solar eclipse swept across North America yesterday, blocking out the Sun momentarily with parts of the continent plunged into darkness. Geostationary satellites orbiting 36 000 km away captured images of the rare celestial event. 

These images, captured by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-16), captured the moon’s shadow moving across North America from approximately 16:00 to 23:00 CEST (15:00 to 22:00 BST.)

A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth and, for a short period, blocks the face of the Sun, save for a visible ring of light, known as the Sun’s corona. 

The track of the moon’s shadow across Earth’s surface, called the path of totality, spanned across the North American continent – from Mexico to the very eastern tip of Canada.

The GOES series is a collaborative development and acquisition effort between National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. The GOES-16 (GOES-East) satellite, the first of the series, provides continuous imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth's western hemisphere and monitors space weather.

The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission also captured images of the eclipse with its Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR).

The eclipse also acts as a laboratory for researching what happens to weather when the Moon’s shadow passes over. The shadow makes air temperatures drop and can cause clouds to evolve in different ways. Data from GOES, Sentinel-3 and other satellites are now being used to explore these effects.

Week in images: 01-05 April 2024

Discover our week through the lens

Launched on 21 February 2024 on Apple TV+, new original series Constellation has gripped viewers with its mix of sci-fi and mind-bending mystery.

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features part of Victoria, a state in southeast Australia.

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Pablo Álvarez Fernández, one of ESA's five astronaut candidates currently undergoing basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, shares his experiences in astronaut training, his favourite lessons, and his view on the future of space exploration. Also, stay tuned to hear his favourite space-related quote and movie!

This is Episode 5 of our ESA Explores podcast series introducing the ESA astronaut class of 2022, recorded in November 2023.

Music and audio editing by Denzel Lorge. Cover art by Gaël Nadaud.

Access all ESA Explores podcasts.

 

For the first time, potential signs of the rainbow-like ‘glory effect’ have been detected on a planet outside our Solar System. Glory are colourful concentric rings of light that occur only under peculiar conditions.

 

Data from ESA’s sensitive Characterising ExOplanet Satellite, Cheops, along with several other ESA and NASA missions, suggest this delicate phenomenon is beaming straight at Earth from the hellish atmosphere of ultra-hot gas giant WASP-76b, 637 light-years away.

 

Seen often on Earth, the effect has only been found once on another planet, Venus. If confirmed, this first extrasolar glory will reveal more about the nature of this puzzling exoplanet, with exciting lessons for how to better understand strange, distant worlds. 

Image: 3D-bioprinted blood vessel

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Europe’s next rocket, Ariane 6, passed all its qualification tests in preparation for its first flight, and the full-scale test model has been removed from the launch pad to make way for the real rocket that will ascend to space.

The test model at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, stood 62 m high. It is exactly the same as the ‘production model’ Ariane 6 rockets that will soon be launched, except that its boosters do not need to be tested as part of the complete rocket, so the boosters are not fuelled.

Teams preparing Ariane 6 for its inaugural flight successfully completed for the first time a launcher preparation and countdown sequence, on 18 July. Representatives of ESA, Ariane 6 prime contractor ArianeGroup and launch base prime contractor and test conductor CNES completed important objectives for system qualification and performed a series of actions fully representative of a launch chronology.

The launch simulation included the removal of the mobile gantry, the chill-down of ground and launcher fluidic systems, the filling of the upper and core stage tanks with liquid hydrogen (–253°C) and liquid oxygen (–183°C), and at the end of the test, the successful completion of a launch chronology up to the ignition of the Vulcain 2.1 engine thrust chamber by the ground system.

On 5 September 2023 the Vulcain 2.1 engine was ignited, fired for four seconds as planned and switched off before its liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuels were drained to their separate underground tanks. The exercise showed again that the system can be kept safe in the event of a launch abort, as already demonstrated during the 18 July test.

A nighttime full-scale wet rehearsal for Ariane 6 was completed on 24 October 2023, the rocket was fuelled and then drained of its fuel. The test lasted over 30 hours with three teams working in shifts of 10 hours each.

A major full-scale rehearsal was conducted on 23 November 2023 in preparation for its first flight, when teams on the ground went through a complete launch countdown followed by a seven-minute full firing of the core stage’s engine, as it would fire on a launch into space.

A third combined test loading occurred on 15 December 2024 that included a launch countdown to qualify the launch system in degraded conditions and ensure its robustness in preparation for operations. This test sequence included qualification tests of several launch system functions in case of aborted launch and included one ignition of the Vulcain 2.1 engine thrust chamber. It was the fifth countdown run to include loading Ariane 6 with cryo-propellants since July.

On 30 January 2024, the cryogenic connection system passed a last system test of the liftoff disconnection operations lines – the yellow arms supporting the fuel lines to the upper stage to power the Vinci orbital engine. Simultaneously at the bottom of the central core the connection system for the main stage also disconnected.

On 5 February, it was the turn of the electrical umbilical lines to be disconnected. These lines supply the launcher and the satellites inside Ariane 6 with electrical power but also host the digital signals for communications with the informatics system as well as carrying sensor information to ensure the flight system is in good shape for liftoff.

The largest components for the first flight model of Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 arrived at the port of Pariacabo in Kourou, French Guiana on 21 February 2024 via the novel ship, Canopée (canopy in French). The Ariane 6 stages and components are all manufactured across Europe.

The two central stages for Ariane 6’s first flight were then assembled in the launcher assembly building (BAL) at Europe’s Spaceport. The core stage and the upper stage for Europe’s new rocket Ariane 6 are set to fly in the Summer of 2024. Once assembled, the stages will be transferred to the launch pad.

ESA’s new Arctic Weather Satellite has taken centre stage at OHB’s facilities in Stockholm, Sweden, before the spacecraft is packed up and shipped to California, US, for a launch currently scheduled for June.

Embracing the New Space approach to demonstrate new concepts in a cost-effective and timely manner, the Arctic Weather Satellite has been designed to show how it can improve weather forecasts in the Arctic.

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Watch the first episode of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission – Europe’s ambitious exploration journey to search for past and present signs of life on Mars.

This episode starts after a successful descent and landing on the Red Planet in 2030.

Rovers on Mars have previously been caught in loose soils, and turning the wheels dug them deeper, just like a car stuck in sand. To avoid this, Rosalind Franklin has a unique wheel-walking locomotion mode to to overcome difficult terrains, as well as autonomous navigation software.

A major goal of the mission is to understand the geological context and identify minerals formed in the presence of water that could be good targets for drilling into and collecting samples for analysis.

The scientific eyes of the rover are set atop the mast on the Panoramic Camera suite, known as PanCam. From its vantage point about two metres above the ground, PanCam cameras come into play to get a whole picture of the site with high resolution imaging.

Enfys, meaning rainbow in Welsh, is an infrared spectrometer to study mineral composition. Enfys and PanCam work in synergy. PanCam is used to obtain colour, visual information of what lies around the rover. Enfys’ job is to inform scientists what the minerals are.

Rosalind Franklin will be the first rover to reach a depth of up to two metres deep below the surface, acquiring samples that have been protected from surface radiation and extreme temperatures.

The mission will serve to demonstrate key technologies that Europe needs to master for future planetary exploration missions.

This episode shows the spacecraft, the rover and martian landscapes are as true to reality as possible for a simulation.

Check ESA’s ExoMars website and our frequently asked questions for the latest updates.

Credits:

Production: Mlabspace for ESA

3D animation: ESA/Mlabspace

Video footage: ESA/NASA, Shutterstock

Music composed by Valentin Joudrier

On 8 April 2024, a great swath of the United States and Mexico will experience a total solar eclipse, with viewers getting the rare chance to see the Sun’s stunning outer atmosphere.

ESA gives new names to its key contributions to the lunar Gateway, which is set to become the first space station around the Moon.

Image: Images from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission show a large dust storm originating from the Sahara Desert that has engulfed skies across the central Mediterranean Basin.