ESA Top Multimedia

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot published this picture as part of a set on social media with the following caption:

Day 108, orbit 1675 — Our orbital path regularly takes us over countless breathtaking atolls, appearing like brilliant drops of turquoise scattered across the deep blue of both the Pacific and Indian oceans. These ecosystems, essential to a lot of marine and coastal species, face threats resulting from human activity, particularly the accelerating impacts of climate change, like ocean warming and rising sea levels.
From orbit, it becomes extremely clear that for life to continue thriving, all our planet’s ecosystems must be protected.

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Jour 108, orbite 1675 – Notre trajectoire nous amène régulièrement à survoler d’innombrables atolls, de lumineuses gouttes d’un bleu turquoise dispersées sur le bleu profond des océans Pacifique et Indien. La vue est à couper le souffle. Ces écosystèmes, essentiels à de nombreuses espèces marines et côtières, sont menacés par les activités humaines, en particulier par l’accélération des effets du changement climatique, tels que le réchauffement des océans et l’élévation du niveau de la mer.
Depuis l’orbite, il est très clair que pour que la vie continue de prospérer, tous les écosystèmes de notre planète doivent être protégés.

Launch of the ESA EAC beekeeping club

This picture was published on social media as part of a set by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

Day 103, orbit 1598 — From orbit, volcanoes are some of the most beautiful natural sights… End of April, Etna caught me by surprise one morning as I opened the shutters. The whiteness of its slopes… and that elegant plume of smoke which is a gentle reminder that it’s only lightly, very lightly, asleep. I just had time to take a quick photo, but I kept an eye out for it the next day to capture a few more! A special thought for my fellow ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, who is from Catania, at the foot of Etna.

Less than a minute later, and we’re flying over Vesuvius, instantly recognisable by the vast crater, the path winding up to the summit, and, most of all, Naples spread out all around it.

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Jour 103, orbite 1598 – Les volcans sont parmi les plus beaux sites naturels à voir depuis l’orbite… Fin avril, l’Etna m’a prise par surprise un matin alors que j’ouvrais les volets… La blancheur des ses pentes, et surtout ce beau volute de fumée qui rappelle qu’il a le sommeil léger, très léger. J’ai juste eu le temps de prendre une photo, mais je l’ai guetté le lendemain pour en faire d’autres! Clin d’oeil à mon camarade Luca Parmitano, originaire de Catane, au pied de ce majestueux volcan…

Moins d’une minute plus tard, et nous sommes au-dessus du Vésuve, reconnaissable au premier coup d’oeil  par son  immense cratère, le sentier qui serpente vers le sommet, et surtout Naples qui l’entoure. 

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

Day 101, orbit 1567 — 100 days in space already… Living and working aboard the International Space Station is becoming second nature, but each morning, as I open the Cupola shutters, I’m reminded of how extraordinary it really is. 

Over these past weeks, I’ve been constantly challenged, amazed, and inspired – by the work, by the views, and by the incredible teams on the ground who make all of this possible.

Looking forward to the next 100 days!

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Jour 101, orbite 1567 – Déjà 100 jours dans l’espace… Vivre et travailler à bord de la Station spatiale internationale est presque devenu la routine. Et pourtant, chaque matin, en ouvrant les volets de la Cupola, la vue me rappelle à quel point cette aventure est extraordinaire.

Ces dernières semaines m’ont challengée, émerveillée et inspirée à travers le travail, les vues à couper le souffle et les équipes formidables au sol qui rendent tout cela possible.

Hâte de découvrir ce que les 100 prochains jours me réservent ! 

A view from the Cupola window in mid‑April, as brightly lit cities and shipping fleets drift beneath the orbiting path of the International Space Station in this nighttime timelapse captured by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot.

On 20 May, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot conducted an in-flight call with selected media representatives live aboard the International Space Station. During the discussion, Sophie shared insights into life and research in orbit, including scientific experiments supporting human health, climate science and future space exploration.

Auroras, thunderstorms, and brightly lit cities streak across this nighttime timelapse captured by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot during the 2026 Lyrids meteor shower.

A large boulder, a treacherous crater or a gust of wind could jeopardise a smooth landing on Mars. Before the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission launches for the Red Planet in 2028, a replica of the landing platform went through worst-case touchdown conditions – and survived.    

Thinking of every possible landing scenario, European engineers dropped a full-scale model onto a sled to test its stability in case the spacecraft touched down at an angle. A magnetic sledge released the lander at varying speeds – up to four metres per second –on a platform tilted at 20 degrees.  

In every test, the four legs of the descent module absorbed the impact.  

These sled-based tests were the final series of the landing platform drop test campaign conducted at the ALTEC facilities in Turin, Italy.   

“This campaign proves how robust the ExoMars landing system is. The tests delivered critical data on the platform’s stability under challenging conditions, and on the ability of its legs to cope with a harsh touchdown,” says Pietro Baglioni, ExoMars rover team leader for the Rosalind Franklin mission.  

The campaign also demonstrated the performance of the touchdown sensors, a critical detection function that automatically shut downs the engines upon landing. Installed in all four legs of the descent module, the sensors detect when the spacecraft approaches the surface and trigger engine shutdown. If the sensors are too slow to communicate with the propulsion system, the rocket plumes could blast martian soil upwards, potentially damaging and overturning the spacecraft.   

“We want to make sure that we don’t tip over at landing. These results are fundamental to increasing confidence in the reliability of the ExoMars landing sequence,” Pietro adds.   

Teams from Thales Alenia Space and Airbus are using the results from this campaign to feed computer models that simulate further landing scenarios on Mars. The Rosalind Franklin rover mission is set to arrive at the martian surface in 2030.   

After an intense few weeks the crew took time to celebrate together with a shared meal proposed by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot.

It’s a long‑standing tradition: each ESA astronaut works with a chef to create a few special dishes reserved for rare occasions — known as “bonus food”. Sophie’s bonus food was created by multi‑Michelin‑starred chef Anne‑Sophie Pic, offering the crew a taste of French gastronomy far from Earth.

Bonus food, tailored to specific crew members, makes up around one tenth of an astronaut’s menu. Astronauts say it adds variety to their meals, supports mental well‑being, and helps strengthen bonds among the crew in orbit.

This timelapse shows ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot tidying the European Columbus laboratory aboard the International Space Station. Keeping the Station organised is crucial for crew safety and smooth operations, ensuring that science and maintenance can continue without interruption.

Every item has its place, and as crews rotate every few months, ground teams play an important role in helping locate any item needed for an experiment or a maintenance task.

The first‑of‑its‑kind ship‑to‑ship call between astronauts on deep‑space and low Earth orbit missions.On 7 April, the Artemis II crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, together with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, spoke with Expedition 74 astronauts Chris Williams, Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir of NASA, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot aboard the International Space Station.

Today, at 17:07 local time (Pacific) on 10 April (01:07 BST/02:07 CEST on 11 April), NASA's Orion spacecraft and its crew splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, marking the successful end of the Artemis II mission, humankind's first journey around the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

ESA's European Service Module powered the spacecraft over 1 million kilometres through in deep space, providing air and water for the astronauts, generating electrical power via its four solar arrays, maintaining thermal control and delivering propulsion.

Mostly built by European industry under ESA leadership, the European Service Module was assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Bremen, Germany, with contributions from companies across 13 European countries, involving 20 main contractors and over 100 European suppliers.

Throughout the mission, European engineers supported operations around the clock from ESA's centres in the Netherlands and Germany, as well as alongside NASA teams in Houston, ensuring Orion and its crew completed their journey safely around the Moon and back home.

European engineers in the Eagle mission control room at ESA's technical site in the Netherlands

 

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

[EN] Another experiment, and another timelapse! This time, I’m working with the Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL), one of the science facilities inside ESA’s Columbus module.

The experiment is called PASTA-3 and investigates the formation and evolution of emulsions over time when there is no gravity to interfere. Emulsions are mixtures of two or more liquids that do not usually mix, such as oil and water.

During this session, I installed 3 experiment containers with new samples inside the FSL. Each PASTA sample has a different concentration of surfactant (an agent that helps liquids mix) and Xanthan Gum in addition to a water and oil mixture.

This experiment helps scientists better understand and model the fundamental physics of emulsions. That knowledge has numerous applications on Earth, including:
improving food quality and shelf life (milk, dough, mayonnaise, candy…), enhancing the stability and effectiveness of medicines (including vaccines) and cosmetics, optimising processes in industrial and advanced manufacturing sectors (oil, chemicals …).

PASTA-3 is one of the 36 European experiments I get to work on during my mission! Go science!

(PASTA is short for PArticle STAbilised emulsions experiment.)

 

[FR] Nouvelle expérience, et nouveau timelapse ! Cette fois-ci, cela se passe dans le Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL), l’une des installations scientifiques situées à l’intérieur du module Columbus de l’ESA.

L’expérience s’appelle PASTA 3 : elle étudie la formation et l’évolution des émulsions au fil du temps en l’absence de gravité. Une émulsion, c’est un mélange de deux ou plusieurs liquides qui ne se mélangent pas facilement, comme l’huile et l’eau.

Lors de cette session, j’ai installé trois lots de nouveaux échantillons dans le FSL. Chaque échantillon PASTA présente une concentration différente de tensioactif (un agent qui aide les liquides à se mélanger) et de gomme xanthane, en plus d’un mélange d’eau et d’huile.

Cette expérience aide les scientifiques à mieux comprendre et modéliser la physique fondamentale des émulsions avec à la clé de nombreuses applications sur Terre, comme par exemple:
l’amélioration de la qualité des aliments et de leur durée de conservation (lait, pâte, mayonnaise, confiseries…), le renforcement de la stabilité et de l’efficacité des médicaments (y compris les vaccins) et des cosmétiques, l’optimisation des procédés industriels et de fabrication avancée (pétrole, chimie…).

PASTA 3 est l’une des 36 expériences européennes sur lesquelles j’ai la chance de travailler durant ma mission ! Vive la science !

(PASTA est l’abréviation de PArticle STAbilised emulsions experiment.)

Earth sets above the lunar horizon during Artemis II