ESA Top Multimedia

Artificial solar eclipse by Proba-3 mission

These Copernicus Sentinel-2 images over the Danube north of Budapest show how the river’s level has fallen to a record low in Hungary due to a severe drought in central Europe.

Using cutting-edge technology, ESA’s FLEX mission is designed to reveal new insights into how plants function by measuring the faint fluorescence they emit during photosynthesis. Although invisible to the human eye, this signal changes with environmental conditions and plant health –allowing scientists to assess vegetation stress.

The FLEX satellite is equipped with the Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer (FLORIS), an instrument designed specifically to detect and map this delicate glow.

By capturing these data, FLEX deepens our understanding of how carbon moves between plants and the atmosphere, and how photosynthesis influences both the carbon and water cycles. The mission also provides valuable information on plant health – a critical contribution at a time when a growing global population is putting increasing pressure on food and feed production.

Relative severity is a percentage loss relative to the biomass measured before disturbance or harvest.

Smoke plume from Greek wildfires seen by Sentinel-3

This timelapse was published on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

[English] Day 167 orbit 2587 — Movies sometimes make it look easy to put on a spacesuit and head outside the spaceship. In reality, getting two astronauts and their spacesuits ready for the vastly hostile environment just beyond the Station takes a looooong time. It requires hours of carefully rehearsed procedures, precise gestures, and endless checks to make sure everything is ready before the hatch opens.

For this EVA-95, I had the privilege of leading the intravehicular (IV) operations, and I couldn't be happier of how well we worked together. While strictly following all procedures, we still managed to get Jessica and Chris into the airlock about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. That may not sound like much, but for the crew members in the suit, it’s 30 minutes of energy saved for the EVA marathon ahead, a huge advantage!

Next EVA on August 6! As usual, you can watch it live on the NASA website or on their YouTube channel.

 

[French] Jour 167, orbite 2587 – C’est si facile dans les films d’enfiler un scaphandre et de sortir du vaisseau spatial… Dans la vraie vie, préparer deux astronautes et leurs scaphandres à affronter l’environnement extrêmement hostile qui règne juste à l’extérieur de la Station prend un trèèèès long moment. Des heures de procédures soigneusement répétées, de gestes précis et de vérifications pour s’assurer que tout est prêt avant l’ouverture de l’écoutille.

Pour cette EVA-95, j’avais la joie de diriger les opérations intravéhiculaires, et nous avons formé une équipe super efficace. Tout en suivant strictement toutes les procédures, Jessica et Chris étaient dans le sas, prêts à sortir, avec 30 minutes d’avance. 30 minutes, ce n’est pas grand chose, mais pour les membres d’équipage dans le scaphandre, c’est toujours 30 minutes d’énergie économisée pour le marathon que représente une EVA !

Prochaine sortie extravéhiculaire le 6 août! Elle sera comme d’habitude retransmise en direct par la NASA sur leur site et sur leur chaîne YouTube.

This video was published on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

[English] Day 169, orbit 2618 — Cozy evening time in my crew cabin — something I’m definitely going to miss when I’m back on Earth… A few emails, a pouch of herbal tea, a few yin yoga stretches and then off to sleep!

[French] Jour 169, orbite 2618 – Moment cocooning du soir dans ma cabine de couchage, qui va me manquer une fois de retour sur Terre… Quelques emails, une tisane, des étirements de yin yoga et au lit !

What did space have in store for Europe this July?

The Artemis II crew visited ESTEC, ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands, to meet the team behind Orion’s European Service Module, celebrating the collaboration that powered their trip around the Moon. Meanwhile, ESA’s Hera spacecraft successfully upgraded its software from 140 million km away, in preparation for its investigation of Didymos and Dimorphos later this year.

July also saw FLEX and Copernicus Sentinel-3C head to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in preparation for their launch this September. Then, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope celebrates four years of science with a spectacular new view of the galaxy Centaurus A.

400 km above Earth, Sophie Adenot inaugurated the European Enhanced Exercise Device with rowing, rope-pulling, strength training and more. She also showed us the ISS 'Veggie' chamber, and how the space seedlings have been growing. From the Cupola, Sophie captured her most impressive footage of Earth’s auroras yet.

Here’s your monthly roundup of everything happening at the European Space Agency.

We get as close as possible to travelling aboard a spacecraft, experiencing what it would be like to fly towards planet Mercury. Through a sonification of data collected during ESA/JAXA BepiColombo’s sixth flyby, we can almost feel the spacecraft shaking and the rocky planet’s gravity tugging on it.  

In this episode of Expedition Sound, we explore the planets of our Solar System and make a stop at planet Mercury. Blasted by the Sun's intense heat and shaped by a magnetic field unlike any other rocky planet’s, this small world is a place that still holds many mysteries. 

We hear from BepiColombo Project Scientist Geraint Jones about which of Mercury's mysteries the mission will help scientists unravel, and about what hearing the spacecraft approach the planet is like for someone so involved in the mission. In this episode, we also talk with Ben Ruggles, who was an undergraduate student at the University of Portsmouth, UK, at the time of recording. Ben explains how he uses sonification in his astronomy research as a scientist with a visual impairment, and discusses the challenges of collaborating with others while doing science through sound. 

Hosted by Zsófi Szalavári 

Check out the sonification by Carmelo Magnafico (IAPS/INAF) here.

Learn more about ESA/JAXA’s BepiColombo mission.

Find out more about STRAUSS, the sonification tool that Ben is using for his research: https://www.audiouniverse.org/our-research-and-code/strauss-code  

Original theme music produced by Marci Szalavári (https://soundcloud.com/septrone-hd). 

Themis during wet dress rehearsal

This timelapse was published on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

 

[English] Day 165, orbit 2557 — GEARS (Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space) is another experiment making good use of the Life Sciences Glovebox, a sealed laboratory workspace where we can safely handle biological samples.

You've probably already heard about antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which are a growing threat to human health on Earth and a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. The surfaces of the International Space Station have been monitored since 2000, and two common bacterial species found on board have shown resistance to antibiotics, as well as tolerance to desiccation, starvation and disinfection.

This could pose challenges during future long-duration exploration missions, when spaceflight-weakened immune systems may leave astronauts more vulnerable to infection while crews must rely on a limited supply of antibiotics carried on board.

But it also gives researchers a unique opportunity to study how these microorganisms survive and adapt in extreme environments… This knowledge could help safeguard astronaut health and improve healthcare here on Earth as well. Go science!

 

[French] Jour 165, orbite 2557 — L’expérience GEARS (pour Genomic Enumeration of Antibiotic Resistance in Space) met elle aussi à profit la boite à gants Life Sciences Glovebox, un espace de laboratoire fermé qui nous permet de manipuler des échantillons biologiques en toute sécurité.

Vous avez probablement déjà entendu parler des bactéries résistantes aux antibiotiques. Elles représentent une menace croissante pour la santé sur Terre et figurent parmi les principales causes d’infections nosocomiales. Les surfaces de la Station spatiale internationale sont sous surveillance depuis l’an 2000, et deux espèces bactériennes couramment présentes à bord ont montré une résistance aux antibiotiques, ainsi qu’une tolérance à la dessiccation, à la privation de nutriments et aux procédures de désinfection.

Il s’agit d’un défi supplémentaire à relever pour les futures missions d’exploration de longue durée. Le système immunitaire des astronautes, affaibli par le séjour dans l’espace, pourrait les rendre plus vulnérables aux infections, alors même que les équipages ne pourront compter que sur un stock limité d’antibiotiques...

Mais cette situation offre aussi aux chercheurs une occasion unique d’étudier comment ces micro-organismes survivent et s’adaptent à des environnements extrêmes – des connaissances qui pourraient contribuer à protéger la santé des astronautes, et améliorer les soins sur Terre. Vive la science !

Satellite positions observing the fireball

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot shared this video on her social media channels with the caption:

[EN] Day 159, orbit 2466 — An astronaut's schedule is very diverse, and also includes housekeeping tasks to help take care of our orbital home – just like people on Earth take care of their homes. One of mine recently? Replacing old shower curtains with new ones!
What we call the shower is officially the hygiene area, located in JLP (Japanese Logistics Module - Pressurised Section). It's where we keep our toiletries and where we can enjoy a little privacy. But that's not the module's only purpose, so curtains have been installed to protect nearby equipment and catch any stray droplets of water while we wash with wet towels or shampoo our hair.
As the curtains dry, the water they collect evaporates and the humidity is recycled by the Station's systems. Other substances, however – such as soap and shampoo – remain behind. Over time, the curtains become less and less pristine… so every now and then, we change them!

[FR] Jour 159, orbite 2466 — Les journées d’un astronaute sont très variées, et comprennent aussi des tâches pour prendre soin de notre station spatiale, tout comme chacun prend soin de son chez-soi sur Terre ! Récemment, j’ai ainsi remplacé de vieux rideaux de douche par des neufs !
Ce que nous appelons la « douche » est l’équivalent fonctionnel d’une salle de bains – elle se trouve dans le module logistique japonais (JLP). Chacun y garde ses affaires de toilette, et on peut s’y isoler le temps de se laver. Vu que ce n’est pas la seule fonction de ce module, des rideaux ont été installés pour protéger les équipements à proximité et recueillir les éventuelles gouttelettes d’eau qui pourraient s’échapper pendant la toilette ou le shampoing.
Lorsque les rideaux sèchent, l’humidité est recyclée par les systèmes de la Station. D’autres substances, en revanche – comme le savon ou le shampoing – restent sur le tissu. Avec le temps, les rideaux deviennent de moins en moins propres… et finissent par être remplacés !

This video was published by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot on social media with the following caption: 

Day 144, orbit 2233 — Many of you noticed the pink glow in the recent timelapses done in Columbus…That’s thanks to Veggie , the International Space Station’s vegetable production system — our little space garden! The Veggie chamber glows magenta-pink because it emits a light spectrum that’s perfect for plant growth!

During Expedition 74, Veggie hosted the Veg-06 experiment, with two main goals: to study how alfalfa plants and beneficial bacteria work together in microgravity to capture nitrogen from the air and turn it into nutrients plants can use… and to look at how lignin – the material that helps plants stand upright on Earth – changes in space.

The alfafa plants were successfully grown – watered and nurtured by all of us – then harvested (aerial parts and roots) and stowed in a freezer. They were sent back to Earth for further analysis on board the CRS SpX‑34 cargo Dragon.

For us, working on Veggie is a real taste of home – a reminder of what a garden looks and smells like. There’s something very special about watching the plants grow and caring for them day after day. I loved working on this experiment

It is clear that being able to grow fresh food in space will be crucial for long exploration missions, not just for nutrition, but for crew morale as well. A better understanding of nitrogen fixation is also key to improving soil quality on Earth, while studying lignin may benefit agriculture and forestry in the long run. Go science!

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Jour 144, orbite 2233 — Vous avez été nombreux à faire des commentaires sur l’ambiance rose dans les récents timelapses réalisés dans Columbus… Le responsable : Veggie , notre petit jardin à bord de la Station spatiale internationale ! La lumière rose-magenta caractéristique de Veggie provient des LED qui diffusent un spectre lumineux idéal pour la croissance des plantes.

Pendant l’Expédition 74, Veggie a accueilli l’expérience Veg-06, qui avait deux principaux objectifs. Premièrement, étudier comment la luzerne et des bactéries symbiotiques collaborent en micropesanteur pour capter l’azote présent dans l’air et le transformer en nutriments assimilables par les plantes. Deuxièmement, comprendre comment évolue la lignine, le matériau qui aide les plantes à se tenir droites sur Terre, lorsqu’elles poussent dans l’espace.

Les plants de luzerne ont bien poussé, arrosés et entretenus par l’ensemble de l’équipage! Ils ont ensuite été récoltés (parties aériennes et racines), stockés dans un congélateur puis renvoyés sur Terre à bord du vaisseau-cargo Dragon CRS SpX-34 afin d’être analysés plus en détail.

Pour nous, travailler sur Veggie, c’est retrouver un petit coin de Terre dans l’espace – un précieux rappel visuel et olfactif de ce qu’est un jardin… C’est très touchant de voir les plantes grandir et de s’en occuper au fil des jours. J’ai adoré travailler sur cette expérience

Il sera essentiel pour les futures missions d’exploration de longue durée d’avoir cette capacité de production d’aliments frais , non seulement pour l’alimentation, mais aussi pour le moral des équipages. Mieux comprendre le mécanisme de fixation de l’azote, c’est la possibilité d’améliorer la qualité des sols sur Terre, et l’étude de la lignine pourrait bénéficier à long terme à l’agriculture et à la foresterie.

Vive la science !

Following its installation on board the International Space Station, Sophie began testing the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D), marking the start of a two-year technology demonstration led by ESA in Columbus. During this period, astronauts will evaluate the device's design, operational performance and effectiveness in counteracting the physical deconditioning caused by life in microgravity.