🇦🇺 🚀 We are heading down under to participate in the 76th International Astronautical Congress in Sydney, Australia from 29 September-3 October. Throughout the week, we will host events on space transportation, international cooperation, commercialisation, the space economy, and education.

🌔 Every day, Earth is bombarded by tiny asteroids, most too small to even be detected. But what if we could study those impacting the Moon? ESA's NELIOTA-III #HorizonEurope project closely monitors Moon impact flashes and just released its first observations. www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

Standing on its own four legs🦿🦿🦿🦿 @esa.int's reusable rocket demonstrator Themis is standing tall. Themis will demonstrate rocket stage recovery and reuse technologies and the first model arrived at the Esrange Space Center launch pad in Sweden 🇸🇪 over the summer.

🛰️ Sentinel-1D begins simulations training! Mission controllers at ESOC started preparing for the launch and the crucial early-orbit phase ensuring they can respond quickly under pressure. www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/We_know_the_drill_Sentinel-1D_begins_streamlined_simulations_training

Asteroid 2025 FA22 will safely pass Earth on 18 September 2025 at 07:41 UTC (09:41 CEST). It is between 130 and 290 m across and at its closest point to our planet, it will be just over twice as far away as the Moon. www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

🛠🛰 How to help a satellite running low on fuel? Meet RISE: ESA’s mission extender in geostationary orbit 💡Learn more about this mission planned for launch in 2029: www.esa.int/Space_Safety/ESA_to_build_first_in-orbit_servicing_mission_with_D-Orbit

Comet #3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object we've ever spotted ☄️ Discovered in July, the comet is making its way through our Solar System, carrying onboard clues about the formation of worlds far beyond our own. Follow its journey & what we learn about it 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭🧪

🌙 A blood moon from the edge of the world 🇦🇶 🌒 A few nights ago, around 85% of Earth could see a total lunar eclipse - including the crew of Concordia station in Antarctica, a place more remote than the International Space Station. 📸: @esa.int/IPEV/PNRA/DC21-J. Lacrampe, N. Purvis

ESA is testing a new ultra-precise atomic clock that is designed and built entirely in Europe. These clocks are essential for reliable and independent ground-based infrastructure. The first was recently deployed at ESA's deep space ground station in Western Australia: www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

More than meets the eye 👀 As Juice was flying by Venus on 31 August, our deep-space antenna in Spain was keeping in touch with the spacecraft. Jupiter, Juice's final destination, was also keeping a close eye on the operations. But when we looked closer, we spotted more observers. 1/2 🔭

Check out the recent aurora captured by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) all-sky camera in Kiruna, Sweden 😍 Find out what caused the auroral activity: @esaspaceweather.esa.int ‬ Find out how space weather affects life on Earth: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

Flyby success! ESA's Juice spacecraft passed Venus at 07:28 CEST on 31 August. This photo shows our deep-space antenna in Spain in communication with Juice during the flyby. Juice’s current location, Venus, and its destination, Jupiter, are both visible in the sky ❤️

Reminder that ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) flies past Venus this weekend. The spacecraft was designed to feel at home in the cold, dark environment of the Jupiter system, and it is too hot at Venus to turn the cameras on. Pics or it didn’t happen? You’ll have to trust us on this one.

Seeing double! ESA's Izaña-2 laser ranging station has begun to track space debris from the Spanish island of Tenerife. In the future, engineers hope to use such lasers to nudge small debris off of a collision course with a satellite. Full documentary at: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

☄️ News from the @esa.int Planetary Defence Office: The number of known near-Earth asteroids has just passed 39,000! This figure is particularly impressive when we consider that 25 years ago we only knew of around 1000.

🛰️ Four laser links and a cat? ESA has wrapped up its interplanetary optical communication campaign with NASA's Psyche spacecraft. The successful campaign demonstrates Europe's readiness to support the future of high data rate, deep space optical communication. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

ESA welcomes JAXA's interest in participating in the Ramses mission to asteroid Apophis, which will make a safe but exceptionally rare and scientifically valuable flyby of Earth in April 2029. www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

ESA's Juice mission to Jupiter is on track for its gravity-assist flyby at Venus on 31 August, following the successful resolution of a spacecraft anomaly that temporarily disrupted communication with Earth. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

ESA is working on an automated system for avoiding collisions in orbit. The future platform will allow satellite operators at risk of a collision to interact and coordinate a response while keeping the sensitive data of all parties secure. Info: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

🌠 The Perseid meteor shower is at its peak! Bright streaks in the night sky mark Earth’s passage through the dust and debris left behind by Comet Swift–Tuttle. The Moon is bright, but from a dark spot, you may be treated to one of the best meteor displays of the year.

🐱💫 It’s #InternationalCatDay, and we have something special: a cat video that travelled 300 million km through deep space! Meet Taters, the laser-chasing cat. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory created this clip to test the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment on the Psyche spacecraft. 🧵👇

🚨 Interstellar news! ☄️ The unexpected comet 3I/ATLAS has been captured in the sharpest picture yet by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Discover more about this visitor from outside our Solar System 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... 🔭 🧪

ESA's Hera mission has spotted its first asteroids! Hera is on the way to the Didymos binary asteroid system to explore the aftermath of humankind's first attempt to move an asteroid. Though faint, these observations are very encouraging for the performance of Hera's camera.

Mars’s climate is fascinating. Unlike Earth, Mars’s tilt varies wildly, driving alternate warm-cool spells that let ice creep around the planet 🔴❄️ Telltale signs of this freeze-thaw cycle cover Mars, and are spotted by @esa.int's Mars Express 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭🧪 #planetsci

🗓️ Save the date(s)! Please join us at #ESAOpenDays this year: 12 Sept. - ESA ESOC, Darmstadt 🇩🇪 20 Sept. - ESA HQ, Paris 🇫🇷 26 Sept. - ESA ESRIN, Frascati 🇮🇹 4 Oct. - ESA ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada 🇪🇸 11-12 Oct. - ESA ESTEC, Noordwijk 🇳🇱 Stay tuned!

🪂 The largest parachute to ever fly on Mars deployed gracefully on Earth, slowing down an @esa.int #ExoMars dummy descent module for a safe touchdown. Watch this slow-motion footage captured from the capsule after its release at nearly 30 km above the Arctic Circle. 📽️ Vorticity

We are hiring for two high-level positions: Director of Navigation and Director of Operations. Both positions will be members of the ESA Executive Board and, in that role, will be responsible for contributing to ESA-wide management. Apply by 5 September⬇️ www.esa.int/About_Us/Car...

🤖 Meet Olympus – a four-legged robot that recently jumped from wall to wall at @esa.int’s robotics laboratory in conditions simulating the low gravity of Mars 🔴 👉 www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

☀️A new era in space weather forecasting is beginning... Last year, we saw an increase in solar storms that lit up the skies with stunning auroras across Europe. However, these events can be disruptive, effecting power, satellites & communications.

This is the part of deploying a satellite that you never hear about, and the European Space Agency let me have a go! I spent two days at their Mission Control, and you won't believe how precisely they can position a satellite in space!

ESA's astronomers are actively tracking 3I/ATLAS, which is now the third confirmed interstellar comet to pass through our Solar System! More info at: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

Astronomers may have just discovered the third interstellar object passing through the Solar System! ESA’s Planetary Defenders are observing the object, provisionally known as #A11pl3Z, right now using telescopes around the world.

Chaos, panic, total devastation: asteroids in films are scary, and only an unlikely, heroic mission can save humanity 🚀 ☄️ But what would happen if an asteroid hurtled towards us for real? On the occasion of #AsteroidDay, tune in to #ChasingStarlight to find out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaON... 🔭🧪

"Every time we have interacted with an asteroid, the reaction has been totally different from what we expected." Check out the replay from Saturday's #AsteroidDay Festival, featuring great speakers from ESA's Hera mission, the Virtual Telescope Project and NASA JPL! www.youtube.com/live/HI5RQeV...

👨‍🚀 How to keep astronauts safe on an asteroid mission? ☄️ @esa.int experts at #AsteroidDay in Luxembourg discussed space medicine and spaceflight simulations. Their research enables medical applications, such as remote monitoring & healthcare for extreme environments. ▶️ youtu.be/HI5RQeVbLkI?...

Eyes meet brain for our next exoplanet mission, as Plato's payload module is attached to its service module 👀🤝🧠 We've condensed the hours-long, millimetre-precision procedure into just 1.5 minutes in the timelapse below. More info 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... 🧪☄

Today, we are at the #AsteroidDay Festival in Luxembourg to share the excitement of ESA's Planetary Defence activities with visitors of all ages! Come and visit us at the ESA stand, or follow the event online at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI5R... Event programme: asteroidday.org/events-in-lu...

Asteroid 2024 YR4 made headlines this year when its probability of impacting Earth in 2032 rose to 3%. While an Earth impact has now been ruled out, the story continues. The final glimpse of the asteroid left it with a 4% chance of hitting the Moon on 22 Dec 2032. www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

Today, at the #ParisAirShow, ESA introduced the Solar System Internet 🛰️🌐🌙 We are working with @esaconnectivity.esa.int and our partners to develop a network of networks that can provide communication and navigation services to missions at the Moon, Mars and beyond. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

Rising to the challenge 🛰️⬆️ Today, at the #ParisAirShow, ESA hosted a panel dedicated to RISE, our in-orbit servicing mission. Led by D-Orbit, RISE will extend the life of satellites in geostationary orbit, securing strategic space assets and reducing the generation of space debris. Image: D-Orbit

#Proba3 releases first images! Not only it is a demonstration of the mission's formation flying technology… but also a small revolution in the way computer models will simulate the solar corona and create ‘digital eclipses’.

Ready to lift-off day 1 at #SalonDuBourget? 🚀 Don't forget to join us live for the [email protected] press conference beginning at 14:00 BST/15:00 CEST on esawebtv.esa.int For ESA’s full programme at the #ParisAirShow click here ➡️ www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA...

🌞 See the Sun from a whole new angle. For the first time, our Solar Orbiter mission has captured close-up images of the Sun’s mysterious poles, regions long hidden from our view.

Check out the ispace Moon landing livestream! The landing attempt is planned for 21:17 CEST: www.youtube.com/live/BVSMXQP...

Asteroid passing tonight 👋 ESA's Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre maintains a list of all known upcoming asteroid close approaches: neo.ssa.esa.int/close-approa... For any considered 'infrequent' or rarer due to the asteroid's size or close proximity, we share a factsheet 👇

ESA’s newest planetary defender has opened its ‘eye’ to the cosmos for the first time. The Flyeye telescope’s ‘first light’ marks the beginning of a new chapter in how we scan the skies for new near-Earth asteroids and comets. www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

📡 Did you miss it? Last week, we made history (and music)! ESA and Vienna made history by transmitting a live performance of The Blue Danube Waltz into space from its Cebreros #Estrack deep space antenna in Spain. Relive the magic here 👉 www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

Canada's SED Systems, a division of Calian Group, led the development of ESA’s deep-space ground stations in Australia, Spain and Argentina. These stations enable @esa.int's independent capacity to fly scientific and exploration missions across the Solar System. #ESAxCanada🍁

Japanese lunar exploration company ispace will attempt to land its RESILIENCE spacecraft on the surface of the Moon on this week! ESA's global network of ground stations is facilitating communication between the spacecraft and ispace mission control in Tokyo. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

ESA's first mission to Mars launched 22 years ago today! 🎂 Mars Express is still going strong at the Red Planet and continues to receive software patches that could extend its life for years to come. www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...