Zone Of Silence by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: ESA’s Compact Payload Test Range for antenna testing. Metal walls screen outside radio signals while spiky foam interior cladding absorbs radio signals internally to create conditions simulating the infinite void of space. For more information please click here. Credits: ESA-A. Le Floc’h
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Zone Of Silence by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
ESA’s Compact Payload Test Range for antenna testing. Metal walls screen outside radio signals while spiky foam interior cladding absorbs radio signals internally to create conditions simulating the infinite void of space.

For more information please click here.

Credits: ESA-A. Le Floc’h

Planck Cosmic Microwave Background by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: The anisotropies of the Cosmic microwave background (CMB) as observed by Planck. The CMB is a snapshot of the oldest light in our Universe, imprinted on the sky when the Universe was just 380,000 years old. It shows tiny temperature fluctuations that correspond to regions of slightly different densities, representing the seeds of all future structure: the stars and galaxies of today. For more information, please click here. Credits: ESA and the Planck Collaboration
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Planck Cosmic Microwave Background by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
The anisotropies of the Cosmic microwave background (CMB) as observed by Planck. The CMB is a snapshot of the oldest light in our Universe, imprinted on the sky when the Universe was just 380,000 years old. It shows tiny temperature fluctuations that correspond to regions of slightly different densities, representing the seeds of all future structure: the stars and galaxies of today.

For more information, please click here.

Credits: ESA and the Planck Collaboration

Steins Revisited by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: Asteroid Steins was first imaged by ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft using the OSIRIS camera on 5 September 2008. Image stacking and processing by amateur astrophotographer Ted Stryk has enhanced the shadows in order to emphasise the difference between bright crater rims and their shadowed floors. However, this technique can also create some artifacts, such as the illusion of boulders protruding from the surface, that are not present in the raw data. In total, over 40 craters have been identified on the surface of Steins, the largest appearing at the ‘top’ of this frame being the 2 km-wide crater named Diamond. Craters on Steins are named after gems, following Stein’s appearance as a diamond shape. For more information, please click here. Credits: ESA ©2008 MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA; processing by T. Stryk.
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Steins Revisited by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
Asteroid Steins was first imaged by ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft using the OSIRIS camera on 5 September 2008. Image stacking and processing by amateur astrophotographer Ted Stryk has enhanced the shadows in order to emphasise the difference between bright crater rims and their shadowed floors.

However, this technique can also create some artifacts, such as the illusion of boulders protruding from the surface, that are not present in the raw data.

In total, over 40 craters have been identified on the surface of Steins, the largest appearing at the ‘top’ of this frame being the 2 km-wide crater named Diamond. Craters on Steins are named after gems, following Stein’s appearance as a diamond shape.

For more information, please click here.

Credits: ESA ©2008 MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA; processing by T. Stryk.

Earth from Space: Canyon Country by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: This Landsat image from 19 July 2011 shows Lake Powell, a reservoir on the Colorado River in the southwestern United States. Straddling the border of the states Utah (to the north) and Arizona (to the south), it is the second largest artificial lake in the country. The area to the north of Lake Powell is known as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and covers over 760 000 hectares. Appearing green in this false-colour image, the Kaiparowits Plateau makes up a significant portion of the Monument, with the Fiftymile mountain (dark green) separating it from the Escalante Canyons. Another feature of the Monument is the Grand Staircase – a sequence of sedimentary rock layers – part of which is visible in the lower-left corner. This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme. For more information, please click here. Credits: USGS/ESA
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Earth from Space: Canyon Country by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
This Landsat image from 19 July 2011 shows Lake Powell, a reservoir on the Colorado River in the southwestern United States. Straddling the border of the states Utah (to the north) and Arizona (to the south), it is the second largest artificial lake in the country. The area to the north of Lake Powell is known as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and covers over 760 000 hectares. Appearing green in this false-colour image, the Kaiparowits Plateau makes up a significant portion of the Monument, with the Fiftymile mountain (dark green) separating it from the Escalante Canyons. Another feature of the Monument is the Grand Staircase – a sequence of sedimentary rock layers – part of which is visible in the lower-left corner.

This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme.

For more information, please click here.

Credits: USGS/ESA

Southeast of Amenthes Planum by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: High-Resolution Stereo Camera nadir and colour channel data taken during revolution 11497 on 13 January 2013 by ESA’s Mars Express have been combined to form a natural-colour view of the region southeast of Amenthes Planum and north of Hesperia Planum. The region imaged, which lies to the west of Tinto Vallis and Palos crater, is centred at around 3°S and 109°E, and has a ground resolution of about 22 m per pixel. The image features craters, lava channels and a valley from which water may have once flowed. Dark wind-blown sediments fill the valleys and the floors of the craters. For more information, please click here. Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
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Southeast of Amenthes Planum by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
High-Resolution Stereo Camera nadir and colour channel data taken during revolution 11497 on 13 January 2013 by ESA’s Mars Express have been combined to form a natural-colour view of the region southeast of Amenthes Planum and north of Hesperia Planum. The region imaged, which lies to the west of Tinto Vallis and Palos crater, is centred at around 3°S and 109°E, and has a ground resolution of about 22 m per pixel.

The image features craters, lava channels and a valley from which water may have once flowed. Dark wind-blown sediments fill the valleys and the floors of the craters.


For more information, please click here.

Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

Earth From Space: Scandinavian snows by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: In this image from the Envisat satellite, clouds cover the North Sea and sweep down to the strait between Denmark (lower-right corner) and Norway (upper-centre). In the upper-right corner, a thicker blanket of clouds covers south eastern Norway and spreads into Sweden. Located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, Norway is Europe’s northernmost country and is famed for its fjords. Some of these are visible in the image as dark lines between the white and snow-covered land. Near the top of the image, we can see part of Norway’s longest and deepest fjord, the Sognefjord. In the lower-right corner, we can see part of Denmark’s Jutland peninsula, with small and large bodies of water speckling the flat terrain. This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme. For more information, please click here. Credits: ESA
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Earth From Space: Scandinavian snows by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
In this image from the Envisat satellite, clouds cover the North Sea and sweep down to the strait between Denmark (lower-right corner) and Norway (upper-centre). In the upper-right corner, a thicker blanket of clouds covers south eastern Norway and spreads into Sweden. Located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, Norway is Europe’s northernmost country and is famed for its fjords. Some of these are visible in the image as dark lines between the white and snow-covered land. Near the top of the image, we can see part of Norway’s longest and deepest fjord, the Sognefjord. In the lower-right corner, we can see part of Denmark’s Jutland peninsula, with small and large bodies of water speckling the flat terrain.

This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme.

For more information, please click here.

Credits: ESA

Visiting Venus by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: A screenshot from a new animation of an orbit of Venus, taken from data collected by ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft. The movie begins from a staggering 66 000 km above the south pole, staring down into the swirling south polar vortex. From this bird’s-eye view, half of the planet is in darkness, the ‘terminator’ marking the dividing line between the day and night sides of the planet. The movie is based on images snapped by the Venus Monitoring Camera over a period of 18 hours during one of the spacecraft’s 24-hour orbits around the planet on 7–8 January last year. It was compiled using public data from the Venus Express data archive. Credits: ESA/MPS/DLR/IDA, M. Pérez-Ayúcar & C. Wilson
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Visiting Venus by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
A screenshot from a new animation of an orbit of Venus, taken from data collected by ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft.

The movie begins from a staggering 66 000 km above the south pole, staring down into the swirling south polar vortex. From this bird’s-eye view, half of the planet is in darkness, the ‘terminator’ marking the dividing line between the day and night sides of the planet.

The movie is based on images snapped by the Venus Monitoring Camera over a period of 18 hours during one of the spacecraft’s 24-hour orbits around the planet on 7–8 January last year. It was compiled using public data from the Venus Express data archive.

Credits: ESA/MPS/DLR/IDA, M. Pérez-Ayúcar & C. Wilson

Huygens Landing by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: Still image from a new animation of Huygens descent and touchdown created using real data recorded by the probe’s instruments as it descended to the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, on 14 January 2005. Credits: ESA–C. Carreau/Schröder, Karkoschka et al (2012).
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Huygens Landing by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
Still image from a new animation of Huygens descent and touchdown created using real data recorded by the probe’s instruments as it descended to the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, on 14 January 2005.

Credits: ESA–C. Carreau/Schröder, Karkoschka et al (2012).

Perspective view of Reull Vallis by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: This computer-generated perspective view of Reull Vallis was created using data obtained from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express. Centred at around 41°S and 107°E, the image has a ground resolution of about 16 m per pixel. This perspective view shows a small tributary channel which, in the wider context view, is seen to later merge back into the main channel. Strong linear features are clearly seen on the valley floor in this view, evidence of ice and loose debris scraping away the floor in a glacial-like manner. For more information and images from the latest MEX image release, please click here. Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
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Perspective view of Reull Vallis by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
This computer-generated perspective view of Reull Vallis was created using data obtained from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express. Centred at around 41°S and 107°E, the image has a ground resolution of about 16 m per pixel. This perspective view shows a small tributary channel which, in the wider context view, is seen to later merge back into the main channel. Strong linear features are clearly seen on the valley floor in this view, evidence of ice and loose debris scraping away the floor in a glacial-like manner.

For more information and images from the latest MEX image release, please click here.


Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

Artist’s impression of the Orion spacecraft by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: NASA’s Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts further into space than ever before using a module based on Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV). ATV’s distinctive four-wing solar array is recognisable in this concept. The ATV-derived service module, sitting directly below Orion’s crew capsule, will provide propulsion, power, thermal control, as well as supplying water and gas to the astronauts in the habitable module. The first Orion mission will be an uncrewed lunar flyby in 2017, returning to Earth’s atmosphere at 11 km/s – the fastest reentry ever. Credits: ESA–D. Ducros, 2012
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Artist’s impression of the Orion spacecraft by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
NASA’s Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts further into space than ever
before using a module based on Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV).

ATV’s distinctive four-wing solar array is recognisable in this concept. The
ATV-derived service module, sitting directly below Orion’s crew capsule, will
provide propulsion, power, thermal control, as well as supplying water and
gas to the astronauts in the habitable module.

The first Orion mission will be an uncrewed lunar flyby in 2017, returning to
Earth’s atmosphere at 11 km/s – the fastest reentry ever.

Credits: ESA–D. Ducros, 2012

A rare cloud-free view of Ireland, Great Britain and northern France by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: The lush landscapes of Ireland, Great Britain and northern France are pictured in this rare cloud-free view, acquired by Envisat on 28 March 2012. To the west, thousands of lakes speckle the island of Ireland. Brown rugged cliffs along the coast frame its plush green interior. In the lower-right corner, the river Seine flows through Paris (seen here as a grey area) and snakes toward the English Channel. Following mainland Europe’s coastline north, we can see the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta followed by part of the intertidal Wadden Sea in the extreme top-right corner. The green and tan-tinted swirls in the seas and channels are due to sediments being transported in the water. Sediment is particularly concentrated around Britain’s southeastern coast, carried by the River Thames through London and into the North Sea. This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme. For more information, please click here. Credits: ESA
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A rare cloud-free view of Ireland, Great Britain and northern France by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
The lush landscapes of Ireland, Great Britain and northern France are pictured in this rare cloud-free view, acquired by Envisat on 28 March 2012.

To the west, thousands of lakes speckle the island of Ireland. Brown rugged cliffs along the coast frame its plush green interior. In the lower-right corner, the river Seine flows through Paris (seen here as a grey area) and snakes toward the English Channel. Following mainland Europe’s coastline north, we can see the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta followed by part of the intertidal Wadden Sea in the extreme top-right corner. The green and tan-tinted swirls in the seas and channels are due to sediments being transported in the water. Sediment is particularly concentrated around Britain’s southeastern coast, carried by the River Thames through London and into the North Sea.

This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme.

For more information, please click here.

Credits: ESA

A Cradle of Stars by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: Six hundred newly forming stars are crowded into intricate filaments of gas and dust that makes up this stellar nursery, seen for the first time by ESA’s Herschel space observatory. The nebulous area coloured in blue, known as W40 or Sharpless 2-64, is roughly 1000 light-years away in the constellation Aquila, and is about 25 light-years across. It is a vast cloud of hydrogen gas, illuminated by the radiation streaming out from at least three young massive stars embedded in the cloud. The nebula is expanding into the surrounding medium, compressing the ambient gas on its way and triggering the formation of a second generation of even younger stars. For more information, please click here. Credits: ESA and SPIRE & PACS consortia, Ph. André (CEA Saclay) for Gould’s Belt Key Programme Consortia
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A Cradle of Stars by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
Six hundred newly forming stars are crowded into intricate filaments of gas and dust that makes up this stellar nursery, seen for the first time by ESA’s Herschel space observatory.

The nebulous area coloured in blue, known as W40 or Sharpless 2-64, is roughly 1000 light-years away in the constellation Aquila, and is about 25 light-years across.

It is a vast cloud of hydrogen gas, illuminated by the radiation streaming out from at least three young massive stars embedded in the cloud.

The nebula is expanding into the surrounding medium, compressing the ambient gas on its way and triggering the formation of a second generation of even younger stars.

For more information, please click here.

Credits: ESA and SPIRE & PACS consortia, Ph. André (CEA Saclay) for Gould’s Belt Key Programme Consortia

VA211 launch by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: Last night, an Ariane 5 launcher lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on its mission to place two telecom satellites, Skynet-5D and Mexsat Bicentenario, into their planned transfer orbits. The satellites were accurately released into their geostationary transfer orbits 27 and 36 minutes after liftoff, respectively. Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Video du CSG
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VA211 launch by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
Last night, an Ariane 5 launcher lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on its mission to place two telecom satellites, Skynet-5D and Mexsat Bicentenario, into their planned transfer orbits. The satellites were accurately released into their geostationary transfer orbits 27 and 36 minutes after liftoff, respectively.

Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Video du CSG

Earth From Space: Water and Ice by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: The Kangerdlugssuaq glacier and its ice stream are pictured in this week’s image, acquired on 19 September 2012 by Landsat-7. It is the largest outlet glacier on Greenland’s east coast, discharging ice into the surrounding oceans. In this image we can see hundreds of icebergs speckling the water. A recent study based on satellite observations revealed that over the past 20 years the ice melting in Greenland and Antarctica has contributed about 11 mm to the global sea-level rise. This image clearly shows the glacier’s calving front, where ice breaks away. Over the years, satellite images have shown that this front has retreated – an indication that the glacier is getting smaller over time. This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme. For more information, please click here. Credits: USGS/ESA
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Earth From Space: Water and Ice by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
The Kangerdlugssuaq glacier and its ice stream are pictured in this week’s image, acquired on 19 September 2012 by Landsat-7. It is the largest outlet glacier on Greenland’s east coast, discharging ice into the surrounding oceans. In this image we can see hundreds of icebergs speckling the water. A recent study based on satellite observations revealed that over the past 20 years the ice melting in Greenland and Antarctica has contributed about 11 mm to the global sea-level rise. This image clearly shows the glacier’s calving front, where ice breaks away. Over the years, satellite images have shown that this front has retreated – an indication that the glacier is getting smaller over time.

This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme.

For more information, please click here.

Credits: USGS/ESA

ESA’s Malargüe tracking station by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.A través de Flickr: A stunning view view of ESA’s new 35m deep-space station in Malargüe, Argentina. On Friday, 24 August 2012, Mars Express became the first mission to downlink telemetry via Malargüe station. Inauguration is set for December 2012 and it enters service in early 2013. Credits: ESA/S.Marti
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ESA’s Malargüe tracking station by europeanspaceagency on Flickr.

A través de Flickr:
A stunning view view of ESA’s new 35m deep-space station in Malargüe, Argentina. On Friday, 24 August 2012, Mars Express became the first mission to downlink telemetry via Malargüe station. Inauguration is set for December 2012 and it enters service in early 2013.

Credits: ESA/S.Marti

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