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At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, the Orion vehicle that will be used for Artemis II is getting ready for this first mission to bring humans around the Moon and back in over 50 years. 

The vehicle consists of several parts: the conical crew module on top, where the four astronauts will live during the mission; the crew module adapter directly beneath it, connecting the crew module above and service module below; the cylindrical European Service Module, the powerhouse of Orion providing the crew vehicle with electricity, propulsion, thermal control, air and water; and the conical spacecraft adaptor, which connects Orion to the Space Launch System mega Moon rocket. 

The Artemis II vehicle stack was moved into a vacuum chamber at the Kennedy Space Center, where it will undergo several tests to ensure it can withstand the harsh conditions of space. The electromagnetic compatibility and interference tests as well as high-altitude vacuum tests will take place in one of two historical chambers also used to test spacecraft during the Apollo era. 

A reaction wheel – one of the heaviest parts of a space mission, its changing rotation used to shift a satellite’s orientation – seen in a plasma wind tunnel belonging to the High Enthalpy Flow Diagnostics Group (HEFDiG) at the University of Stuttgart Institute of Space Systems (IRS). Arc-heated gas in the test chamber reaches speeds of several kilometres per second, reproducing reentry conditions, while the reaction wheel itself is being rotated, reproducing the tumbling that takes place as a satellite plunges through the atmosphere.

The reaction wheel itself comes from Collins Aerospace in Germany, which has supported Design for Demise (D4D) activities for many years and introduced several modifications to their TELDIX reaction wheel making it more likely to come apart during satellite reentry in support of demisability.

This test clip was presented during this year’s Space Mechanisms Workshop at ESA’s ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands, focused on current and future requirements and guidelines to reduce the risk from orbital debris, including ESA’s Zero Debris Charter. The event was attended by more than 130 space mechanisms specialists from European industry and academia.

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.

During a solar eclipse the Earth is plunged into darkness and the Sun’s ghostly atmosphere becomes visible. Scientists travel the globe to experience total solar eclipses, which occur for just a few minutes at a time every 18 months or so. But what exactly causes solar eclipses, and how do scientists try to make their own, including with ESA’s new Proba-3 mission?

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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 Member States met in Paris, France, for the 323rd session of the ESA Council on 26 and 27 March 2024.

Watch the replay of the information session in which ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA Council Chair Renato Krpoun share the outcome of the meeting. They gave an update to media about ESA's vision for the European space sector by 2040 and the status of actions provided in the roadmap for the implementation of the Resolution on present and future European Space Transportation.  

They also addressed the progress made in addressing critical challenges faced by ESA in preparation for the next Ministerial Council in 2025. This includes the establishment of the Independent Project Management Authority (IPMA), updating procurement and geo-return rules, service procurement and agreements with Member States. 

A team of European scientists have published the most detailed geologic map of Oxia Planum – the landing site for ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover on Mars. This thorough look at the geography and geological history of the area will help the rover scout the once water-rich terrain, in the search for signs of past and present life.

The map gives scientists a head start before Rosalind Franklin lands there in 2030. Four years in the making, this map identifies 15 geological units with characteristic features that can help decide how the rover explores the area, interprets its surroundings, and tries to collect evidence of primitive life.

Oxia Planum is located near the martian equator and contains sedimentary deposits that are nearly four billion years old.

The map includes the main types of bedrock, and structures with distinct shapes like ridges and craters. It even features the material that rests on top, for example blown by the wind, or thrown long distances when meteorites impacted the surface. The shape model of the surface on which the map is shown here was generated from orbital images by a painstaking process. In some places, long and straight ‘stripes’ can be seen as a result of this processing.

Data came from the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and several instruments on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), including the HiRISE camera, which returns images from Mars orbit at 25 cm per pixel.

For more information, visit the ExoMars website: www.esa.int/exomars.

This simulation shows how a galaxy like the Milky Way forms and evolves through time. It runs from the birth of the Universe (13.7 billion years ago) to 3 billion years ago. 

The forming galaxy begins as a clump of dark matter threads that knit together; gas and stars then begin to form along these bright veins as time ticks on. A major event in the Milky Way’s history is also labelled at around one minute in, when another object collided with the infant Milky Way. 

Gas is shown in blue, stars in white, dark matter in red, and iron in green, as indicated by the labels displayed at bottom left. In the bottom right, the amount of time ago is shown via both the ‘z’ label (referring to redshift), and the ‘GYR’ label (with 1 Gyr, or gigayear, equalling 1 billion years). 

The simulation was produced by Florent Renaud as part of his Vintergatan Project (Vintergatan being the Swedish word for ‘Milky Way’, meaning ‘The Winter Street’). 

After more than 6 months on the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen returned to Earth, marking the end of his Huginn mission. It was his second mission to the Space Station and his first long-duration, where he was the pilot of Crew-7, which consisted of Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA), Satoshi Furukawa (JAXA), and Konstantin Borisov (Roscosmos).

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen together with Crew-7 after their return to Earth. The Dragon splashed down at 09:47 GMT/10:47 CET on 12 March after undocking from the International Space Station on 11 March at 15:20 GMT/16:20 CET. 

From left to right: Konstantin Borisov, Andreas Mogensen, Jasmin Moghbeli, and Satoshi Furukawa. 

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen explains how two experiments involving virtual reality makes on International Space Station. The first is Virtual Assistance Mental Balance (VAMB) where Andreas gets to enjoy a calm setting in nature that helps him relax. The second one is VR for Exercise, where he cycles on the Space Station’s exercise bike and through different bike routes in Denmark on the VR headset, which has quickly become a favourite for Andreas.

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Highlights of the Muninn mission with ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt, from the countdown to launch, to his work on the International Space Station and the return to Earth.

ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt launched together with the rest of the Axiom-3 crew at 22:49 CET on 18 January 2024, from launch pad 39A, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA. 

Marcus will start his Muninn mission when he enters the International Space Station on Saturday 20 January, where he will spend up to 14 days conducting science and testing technology that can one day help people on Earth. 

You can follow Marcus mission on his social media: 

https://twitter.com/astro_marcus

https://www.instagram.com/esaastro_marcus/

And learn more about his Muninn mission on ESA Muninn page: 

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/muninn