technology.esa.int - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

🔍 The first metal 3D-printed in orbit, model rendezvous testing, a seed-sized space chip and explorations of our robotics lab – those are just some #ESATech activities highlighted in the new #ESAImpact, our photo summary of the European space in 2025 so far 📸 www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA...

submitted 8 hours ago • 0 comments

European industry is invited to register for an information event on the 2025 @esa.int council at ministerial level. Directors will present their plans for programme proposals and more. 📅 3-4 April 🌍 ESTEC @technology.esa.int in The Netherlands ⌚Register by 20 March: atpi.eventsair.com/cm-25/

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🔴 Our #HeraMission just flew by Mars, using the planet’s gravity to speed up towards its target asteroids. Wondering what it was like for the mission engineers to assemble Hera? Make one with LEGO 🧱 – choose your favourite model and get building! 🔨 www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

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Any more questions about our #HeraMission Mars flyby? Why not ask our mission AI itself - the Hera Space Companion is ready to talk to you directly, featuring a brand new voice function! hera.space

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What would Deimos look like to an astronaut in space around Mars? None of Hera's instruments are equivalent to the naked human eye, but here is the science team's first attempt. The 'saddle' between two peaks of Deimos shows up as a shadow

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Our Hera spacecraft science team, including Dr Brian May of Queen, were amazed as the first images came in from the spacecraft's gravity-assist flyby of Mars and martian moon Deimos - see why here: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

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WATCH NOW: #HeraMission's gravity-assist Mars & Deimos flyby images unveiled live by Hera's science team, including Queen guitarist Dr Brian May, plus ESA astronaut Alex Gerst and The Martian author Andy Weir! www.youtube.com/live/cHiASEo...

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LIVE in 100 minutes: the Hera mission science team will unveil the first images from yesterday's gravity-assist Mars flyby! www.youtube.com/live/cHiASEo...

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YESTERDAY: Our Hera spacecraft performed its gravity-assist flyby of Mars (& its Deimos moon) TODAY: Images from the encounter to be unveiled in our webcast, from 11:50 CET (10:50 GMT), featuring astronaut Alex Gerst, The Martian author Andy Weir, our Hera AI and...? www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

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Our Hera science team are busy processing images returned from today’s Mars flyby – including astrophysicist, stereoscopist & guitarist Sir Brian May, seen with Principal Investigator Prof Patrick Michel. Images to come in tomorrow's livestream at 11:50 CET (10:50 GMT): www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

submitted 7 days ago • 2 comments

🔔 SUCCESS! ✅ ESA's Hera Mission orchestrated a successful Mars flyby, using the red planet’s gravity to swing it towards its destination asteroids, while also testing its instruments. @esa.int will unveil flyby photos and debrief the operation tomorrow 👇https://www.youtube.com/live/cHiASEowrio

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Our actual Hera spacecraft is now headed out beyond Mars, but if you have a Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest 3 or 3S VR headset you can get yourself a virtual Hera spacecraft courtesy of Italian startup DIVE's free 'Guardians of Earth' app: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

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‘A great success story for the Irish space strategy’: Technology designed in Dublin guiding Mars fly-by Technology designed in Dublin will assist a European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft called Hera as it navigates a close fly-by of Mars on Wednesday. An instrument designed by InnaLabs Ltd in…

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What is #HeraMission seeing during its gravity-assist flyby of Mars? Initially its view centres on the vast Terra Arabia / Terra Sabaea plain, shifting south to heavily cratered highlands, passing into night beside the vast Hellas Basin, among the Solar System's largest impact craters

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Especially to mark our Hera mission's moment of closest approach during its Mars flyby, at just 5000 km away at 13:51 CET (12:51 GMT) - here's one we made earlier! www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

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Our #HeraMission's moment of closest approach to the red planet during its gravity-assist flyby of Mars is approaching fast; at 13:51 CET it will be 5000 km away. Watch our real-time simulation here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KILq...

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Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective, plus two CubeSats – Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary – are in the midst of a cosmic roadtrip: next stop Mars (except they're not stopping!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Tn...

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As Hera flies by Mars today, it cannot return the images it acquires directly, because it needs to rotate its antenna back to Earth to do that. If you want to see what it is doing second by second from 1245 CET, check the real-life simulation we will soon start here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KILq...

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This is a sped up simulation of today's Hera spacecraft flyby of Mars and its Deimos moon - closest approach to Deimos at 12:07 GMT & Mars at 12:51 GMT. The spacecraft has to rotate around to send its images back to Earth so we'll see them tomorrow: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

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This is #HeraMission's view of Mars acquired yesterday, at 1.07 million km from the red planet, hurtling towards it at 9 km/s. The north pole and other features clearly visible - closest approach comes at 13:51 CET today, images unveiled tomorrow! www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

submitted 7 days ago • 11 comments

Did you know our #HeraMission - about to fly around 🔴Mars - has its own AI 🤖 ready to chat with anybody? Developed by Terra Mater Studios (part of @redbull.com), implemented by Impact AI & backed by @microsoft.com, learn all about the Hera Space Companion: news.microsoft.com/source/emea/...

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As our Hera asteroid mission flies by Mars tomorrow, it will image Deimos - the smaller and more enigmatic of the two martian Moons - from as close as 1000 km away. The results will be unveiled at our livestream on Thursday! www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

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📽️After five months in the darkness between planets, #HeraMission flies past Mars TOMORROW - while imaging the surface and the enigmatic moon Deimos, as a try-out of its instruments before reaching the Didymos binary. Then, this Thursday, see these images unveiled live! www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

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This Wednesday our Hera asteroid mission flies past Mars & its Deimos moon. On Thursday join our star-studded webcast - featuring ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, SF author @andyweirauthor1.bsky.social & a surprise special guest - to see the images Hera returns to Earth! www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

This Wednesday #HeraMission flies by Mars🔴& its moon Deimos🪨. On Thursday join a star-studded livestream with'The Martian' writer @andyweirauthor1.bsky.social, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst plus another v. special guest as its flyby images are unveiled! www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

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🛰️ 🛰️ ☀️ The two spacecraft making up ESA’s Proba-3 mission get closer to each other, ready to begin their cosmic dance in the world’s first-ever precision formation flying mission 💃🏽 See if you can spot the Coronagraph’s solar panel and corona-observing instrument 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

submitted 12 days ago • 2 comments

Engineers at #ESTEC have been busy bees over the last few months, working hard to get the Smile mission ready for launch! 😊👇

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#HENON is a step closer to launch! 🛰️ @esa.int's first ever standalone deep space CubeSat will forecast solar storms hours in advance, improving our current warning times ☀️ www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

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Students explore ESA’s robotics labs 🤖 University teams from across Europe selected through the ESA Academy Experiments programme visit ESTEC’s Orbital Robotics Laboratory, where they will carry out their experiments in the coming months 👉 www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

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Space-travelling algae🌿 Researchers from University of Valencia are exploring whether certain hardy species of microalgae extracted from lichens could survive on Mars 🔴 and provide astronauts with food and oxygen 👉 www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup... @exploration.esa.int

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🤘 First ever metal part 3D-printed in orbit travelled from the International Space Station to ESTEC, ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands, where engineers will study how microgravity impacted the printing process 🔧 Former ESA astronaut Frank De Winne handed the sample over to the laboratory 👇

submitted 15 days ago • 2 comments

🏗️ Groundbreaking news (literally!): #OTD 60 years ago, first foundation piles for ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart, were laid on the North Sea coast in Noordwijk, the Netherlands 👇

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🧪The first metal 3D part created in orbit has landed on Earth. The sample was produced by our Metal 3D Printer on the International Space Station. Now, it’s on Earth for the first time, at ESA ESTEC in the Netherlands. @esatechnology.esa.int @esaexploration.esa.int

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It's launch time! 🚀 Join us on Monday, 3 March 2025, at 16:35 CET to watch the second flight of Ariane 6. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

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Who doesn’t like a bit of stargazing? ✨ The coronagraph aboard ESA’s eclipse maker Proba-3 took its first image, capturing several stars in the Serpent Bearer constellation. @orb-ksb.bsky.social took care of the star field analysis 🔭 www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

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Say cheese! 📸 Proba-3’s Occulter spacecraft took a first peek at its twin spacecraft, the Coronagraph, in another exciting milestone of this eclipse-making mission. Take a look at the images here 👉 blogs.esa.int/proba-3/2025...

submitted 33 days ago • 2 comments

🛰️ This mini space weather station, Norway’s multi-Needle Langmuir Probe, is now fitted onto the ‘front porch’ of the Bartolomeo platform of the ISS, sampling the surrounding plasma – watch how a robotic arm carefully moved it around to slot it into place 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

submitted 40 days ago • 1 comment

For astronaut radiation protection, just add water! 💧 High-energy particles dart through space in all directions. Ghent University team are stopping them using hydrogel as radiation shield – this material, found in nappies or contact lenses, can soak up a lot of water 👉 www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

submitted 41 days ago • 3 comments

Big news! We’ve just launched some new accounts 🎉 Give them a follow: 🔭 @esascience.esa.int 🧑‍🚀 @esaexploration.esa.int 🚀 @esatransport.esa.int 🌍 @esaearth.esa.int 📡 @esaoperations.esa.int ⚙️ @esatechnology.esa.int 🛰️ @esaconnectivity.esa.int Stay tuned for exciting things ahead! 💙✨

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Close-up of a cloud chamber showing the passage of charged particles from background radiation and cosmic rays. Radiation reaches everywhere, but is especially plentiful in space - posing hazards for satellites www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

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Greener, connected and more efficient 🌱📈 #ESTEC, @esa.int’s technical heart, will undergo a transformation thanks to the ambitious AIP plan👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

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🌌To venture deeper into space, we will need autonomous systems that operate independently of ground control. Airbus supported by @esa.int developed an #AI demonstrator to improve fault detection onboard the Columbus module of the #ISS 👉 www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup... @esaexploration.bsky.social

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

The best place to test new space technologies? Space! 🚀 At the 17th #EuropeanSpaceConference @esa.int’s TEC Director signed a deal with a pool of companies that will take promising technologies to space as part of @ec.europa.eu’s programme to boost space tech innovators 👉 www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

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On Day 1 of #EuropeanSpaceConference 🛰️ @esa.int’s Ian Carnelli presented the first-of-its-kind eclipse-making Proba-3 mission. Here’s how the twin satellites will be creating artificial solar eclipses on demand 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

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🔴 LIVE now from #EuropeanSpaceConference 👇 📺 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

submitted 50 days ago • 1 comment

Got a VR headset for Christmas? Try travelling through space with our Hera asteroid mission - download DIVE's free Guardians of Earth app for anyone with Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest 3 or 3S VR glasses www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

submitted 71 days ago • 0 comments

Our Large Diameter Centrifuge in motion up to 67 revs per second, generating hypergravity up to 20 times Earth normal! The LDC is open to researchers worldwide; a Philippines team just used it to boost bone cell growth for biomedical applications: www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

submitted 89 days ago • 0 comments

This Christmas, how would you like your own full-size Hera planetary defence spacecraft? From today, anyone with an Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest 3 or 3S VR headset can download the free Guardians of Earth app from Italian startup DIVE, to access a virtual spacecraft www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

submitted 89 days ago • 0 comments

Swarm vs space radiation - the first 10 years! Satellites in orbit can become absentminded. Space radiation randomly flips onboard memory bits, potentially corrupting mission data & functionality. So a team analysed a decade of rad-effects on ESA’s 3 Swarm spacecraft www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

submitted 99 days ago • 0 comments