#OTD: 16 November 2022, @esa.int and NASA headed back to the #Moon together, with the launch of #Artemis I and NASA’s Orion spacecraft powered by the first European Service Module, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. www.esa.int/Science_Expl... #ForwardToTheMoon

24 years ago at ESA Ministerial Council 2001👇 A visionary plan for Europe’s satcomms took shape, including approval of the Alphasat mission for fast connectivity and mobile services. As #CM25 approaches, our ambition is unchanged: meeting Europe’s connectivity needs and strengthening its autonomy🌐

#OnThisDay 2️⃣5️⃣ years ago: 14 November 2000, #Portugal deposited its Instrument of Accession to the ESA Convention, making it @esa.int's 15th Member State. www.esa.int/About_Us/Cor...

#OTD: 12 November 2014, @esa.int's Rosetta Philae lander made history by touching down on the surface of a comet, the first spacecraft ever to do so. The landing was confirmed at 16:03 GMT/17:03 CET 🧪🔭 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @cnes.fr @dlr-de.bsky.social @operations.esa.int @science.esa.int

2025 marked three decades of satellite navigation in Europe. To celebrate, @esa.int held an event that took the audience on a journey through time, honouring achievements and collaborations that have shaped the systems we rely on today: Galileo and EGNOS. @navigation.esa.int @euspa.bsky.social

😎 This is cool 👇 Explore 25 years on the International Space Station. This multimedia project replays every day of the past 25 years on board and consists entirely of historical mission material. By @benfeist.bsky.social and David Charney. issinrealtime.org

#50YearsOfESA #2019 Cheops was launched on 18 December 2019. ESA's 'CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite' is the first space mission dedicated to determining the sizes of known extrasolar planets, to allow estimation of their mass, density and composition. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHEOPS @cnes.fr

What lasted 18 years but was only meant for 7? Marecs B2, launched #OTD in 1984 on an Ariane 3! 🛰️ One of Europe’s first telecom satellites, keeping ships connected with alerts, forecasts and news.🚢 A true overachiever in space history🌍 @eurospacehistory.bsky.social #ESAarchives

The first surviving successful image of Jupiter was taken in 1879 by Andrew Ainslie Common in Ealing, London, using his 36-inch Newtonian reflector and the wet collodion process invented in 1851 by portrait photographer Frederick Scott Archer

The #ESAarchives Object of the Month for November is about the space connections between present and past in the German city of Bremen. While this month it plays host to ESA Ministerial Council meeting (CM25), almost 50 years ago it played an important role in one of ESA's first flagship projects.

#OTD 2️⃣0️⃣ years ago: 9 November 2005, launch of ESA's Venus Express, Europe's first spacecraft to #Venus. The mission ended in 2014 after eight years of operation around our nearest planetary neighbour 🧪🔭 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @science.esa.int @operations.esa.int

#50YearsOfESA #2018 BepiColombo was launched on 20 October 2018, on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. It's a joint ESA/JAXA mission to study Mercury, now on an eight-year journey with arrival in orbit expected in late 2026. www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @science.esa.int

#50YearsOfESA #2017 #Copernicus Sentinel-5P ('Precursor') was launched on 13 October 2017, the first Copernicus mission dedicated to monitoring our atmosphere, carrying the state-of-the-art TROPOMI instrument to map a range of trace gases & aerosols. www.esa.int/Applications... @euspa.bsky.social

#OTD 🔟F years ago: 4 November 2015, #Hungary became ESA’s 22nd Member State when it deposited its instrument of ratification of the ESA Convention in Paris. #50YearsOfESA www.esa.int/About_Us/Cor...

#OTD: 3 November 1994, launch of French ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy 🇫🇷 on STS-66 #Discovery. This was the first of three spaceflights for Jean-François, during this mission he logged 62 hours and 34 minutes in space over 175 Earth orbits 🧪 @fr.esa.int @cnes.fr @soph-astro.esa.int

Exactly 25 years ago, at 09:21 UTC, the era of continuous human presence on the International @Space_Station began. Since Crew One took up residence in 2000, 21 @esa.int astronauts have lived and worked on this orbital outpost, conducting essential research to benefit life on Earth.

#OTD 2️⃣5️⃣ years ago: 31 October 2000, launch of Expedition 1 and the first permanent crew to the International Space Station 🚀 Anyone born after this date has never known a day without a human presence in space... 🎂

The latest #ESAarchives article on the history of preservation reveals some of the more bizarre things they've found in shipments (😮🤭) and explains how colleagues and users can play a part in appraising and accessing material. historicalarchives.esa.int/brief-histor... @eui-euarchives.bsky.social

👨‍🚀 40 years ago today, Wubbo Ockels became the first Dutch astronaut 🇳🇱 🚀 During his mission, Spacelab-D1, he orbited Earth 110 times over 168 hours 🌍 and performed over 75 experiments with his crew 🧪, controlled from the German Space Operations Centre for the first time in space history.

On 30 October 1985, Wubbo Ockels (1946–2014) became the first Dutch citizen to travel into space. 40 years later, SPACE EXPO in Noordwijk is celebrating this historic milestone with a new exhibition, 'Wubbo Ockels: Astronaut of Spaceship Earth'.

Congratulations to Federica Giaccio and Nicolas Leroy, recipients of the 2025 ESA Postgraduate Research Grant at the HAEU. Funded by @esa.int, the grants support new research on Europe’s path to space cooperation and autonomy. Read more 👉 https://loom.ly/3OMmROI

#OTD 23 October 1979, Sting, Andy Summers and Stu Copeland, AKA #ThePolice, filmed their 'Walking On The Moon' video at NASA Kennedy Space Center. According to #NASAhistory, Stu Copeland is the only human known to have drummed on a Saturn V! youtu.be/zPwMdZOlPo8

🗓️ Coming soon! The untold story of our pioneering 25-year #Cluster mission that studied the invisible solar storms impacting our Earth 🧪🔭 ☀️ 'Seas of the Sun: The story of Cluster', a documentary by @spacerocksofficial.bsky.social and @science.esa.int, will premiere here, 30 October, 19:00 CET 👇

#OTD: 22 October 2001, ESA's #Proba-1 technology demonstration satellite was launched on India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Originally designed as a two-year mission, it is still going strong today! 🧪🌍 www.esa.int/Applications... @esaearth.esa.int @technology.esa.int

#OTD 22 October 1977, launch of ESA's #ISEE-2 spacecraft, on a Delta 2914 rocket from Cape Canaveral along with NASA's #ISEE-1, to study Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind. 🧪🔭 👉 eoportal.org/satellite-mi... @esa.int @science.esa.int #SpaceHistory #Space #History

FILM ALERT! Seas of the Sun – The Story of the Cluster Mission. You can watch it live on @esa.int's Youtube channel next week, October 30th, from 18:00 GMT / 19:00 CET where we’ll be joined by the people behind Cluster in a live chat accompanying the film. #ESAcluster #spacerocks #seasofthesun

#OTD 21 October 2011, the first pair of European #Galileo navigation satellites was launched on the historic first Arianespace flight of a Soyuz from Kourou, French Guiana. www.flickr.com/photos/esa_e... @euspa.bsky.social @navigation.esa.int @cnes.fr

And because it's also #BackToTheFuture Day😉 #OTD 21 October 1998, launch of the Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator (ARD) on Ariane 5 V112. For the first time, @esa.int flies a complete space mission – launching a vehicle into space and recovering it safely. @transport.esa.int @exploration.esa.int

#OTD 21 October 2001, ESA astronaut Claudie Haigneré became the first European (and first 🇫🇷) woman to visit International Space Station on her #Andromède mission. www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @cnes.fr @fr.esa.int @museeairespace.bsky.social @citedelespace.bsky.social @cieletespace.bsky.social

#OTD 20 October 2018, launch of ESA/JAXA #BepiColombo on Ariane 5 #VA245 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou on its seven-year journey to #Mercury 🧪🔭 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @esa.int @cnes.fr @science.esa.int #SpaceHistory #Space #History

#OTD 20 October 1995, Thomas Reiter performed the first spacewalk by an @esa.int astronaut (and a German citizen) during the EuroMir '95 mission. The EVA lasted 5h 11m. www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... @exploration.esa.int @de.esa.int @dlr-spaceagency.bsky.social

#OTD: 19 October 2006, MetOp-A, Europe's first polar-orbiting meteorological satellite was launched. MetOp-A was in operation for 15 years, three times longer than planned. www.esa.int/About_Us/ESO... @eumetsat.int @esa.int @esaearth.esa.int #SpaceHistory #Space #History

#50YearsOfESA #2016 The first ESA ExoMars mission was launched in March 2016, with a spacecraft consisting of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Schiaparelli lander. TGO arrived at Mars that October. Schiaparelli separated from TGO but its landing was unsuccessful. www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

#50YearsOfESA #2015 ESA's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) was a lifting-body spacecraft that completed a suborbital test flight on 11 February 2015. Launched on Vega flight VV04, IXV's mission was to test critical technologies for future European spacecraft. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

#ESAarchives has just opened a new year in its collection of historical photos – head to 1981 as we investigate the start of ESA’s second decade and discover the connection with Bremen – where ESA’s Ministerial Council (CM25) will take place next month! historicalarchives.esa.int/opening-imag...

#OTD: 17 October 2002, ESA's #Integral satellite was launched, the first space observatory that could simultaneously observe objects in gamma rays, X-rays and visible light. In February 2025, Integral ended its mission after 22 years in service 🧪🔭 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @science.esa.int

October’s #ObjectOfTheMonth from #ESAarchives digs into the handover from ESRO to ESA in 1975, seen through the lens of its 'Communication Satellites Programme Board'. More on this 'new' ESA committee👇 historicalarchives.esa.int#oom #50YearsOfESA @eui-euarchives.bsky.social @esaconnectivity.esa.int

Vrijdag 10 oktober zijn er 2 nieuwe tegels toegevoegd aan de Walk of Space! 🤩 👨‍🚀✋ Op de Koningin Wilhelmina Boulevard liggen inmiddels 20 tegels met handafdrukken van astronauten. De 2 nieuwste tegels zijn van de Duitse ruimtevaarders Thomas Reiter en Ulf Merbold. #50YearsOfESA 📸: Barteld de Jong

#OTD 15 October 1997, the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens mission to the Saturn system was launched on a Titan IV-B/Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral 🧪🔭

#OTD 3️⃣0️⃣ years ago, 6 October 1995, Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz announced the discovery of the first exoplanet seen orbiting a Sun-like star (51 Pegasi b, a massive 'hot Jupiter' type). This earned them the Nobel Prize in physics 🧪🔭 #SpaceHistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/51_Pega...

#ThisWeek 3️⃣5️⃣ years ago: 6 October 1990, the joint ESA/NASA #Ulysses spacecraft was launched by the US Space Shuttle STS-41 mission. Ulysses was the first mission to study the environment above and below the poles of the Sun. www.esa.int/Our_Activiti...

Happy launch anniversary to ESA's Hera mission! 🎂🥳 One year ago ESA's first planetary defence mission was stranded on Earth, its launcher grounded, as a hurricane closed in on its launch site. What a difference a year makes! www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

🥳 #HappyBirthday to @esa.int astronaut André Kuipers (5 October)! André flew on Soyuz TMA-4 in 2004 and Soyuz TMA-03M in 2011 to the International Space Station. www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @aseastronauts.bsky.social @nasaspaceflight.com @nl.esa.int

#OTD sixty years ago! 4 October 1965, US astronaut John Glenn visits Germany on a tour of Europe; at a major transport exhibition in Munich, he is awarded a medal by German aviation pioneer Wolfgang von Gronau (pic:ANP)

#OTD 4 October 2021 @esa.int's Thomas Pesquet @thom-astro.bsky.social 🇫🇷 became the first French and fourth European commander of the ISS when he took over from JAXA's Aki Hoshide during Expedition 65. www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @exploration.esa.int @fr.esa.int #SpaceHistory

#OTD 3 October 1994, German ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold flew on Soyuz TM-20 to the Mir space station. His month-long EuroMir '94 mission was considered a precursor to the ESA Columbus module project planned for the future International Space Station. www.esa.int/Science_Expl... #SpaceHistory

Published! Our first article on Substack!

#ThisWeek in 1991! On 2 October, Franz Viehböck became Austria's first astronaut. He was launched on Soyuz TM-13 to the Mir space station with colleagues Toktar Aubakirov and Alexander Volkov, returning on Soyuz TM-12 after just over a week in space. @aseastronauts.bsky.social @fwf-at.bsky.social

#OTD: 1 October 1969, ESRO-1B was launched on a Scout rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (the fourth #ESRO satellite to be successfully launched). ESRO-1A and -1B were designed to study how the auroral zones responded to geomagnetic and solar activity. www.esa.int/About_Us/50_...

#50YearsOfESA #2014 In 2014, ESA's #Rosetta mission achieved two historic milestones: in August, it became the first spacecraft to orbit a comet (Comet 67P) and in November, its Philae lander became the first probe to make a controlled landing on a comet's surface🧪🔭 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...