European Space Agency – Page 4

The brightest, farthest pulsar in the universe

22 February 2017 Stephen Clark

ESA’s XMM-Newton has found a pulsar – the spinning remains of a once-massive star – that is a thousand times brighter than previously thought possible.

Mind the gap: ‘Rapid Burster’ behaviour explained

7 February 2017 Stephen Clark

Scientists observing a curious neutron star in a binary system known as the ‘Rapid Burster’ may have solved a forty-year-old mystery surrounding its puzzling X-ray bursts. They discovered that its magnetic field creates a gap around the star, largely preventing it from feeding on matter from its stellar companion.

Future of asteroid deflection mission to be decided soon

20 January 2017 Stephen Clark

Decisions on the future of a joint robotic mission between NASA and the European Space Agency to demonstrate the ability to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth have been put off until later this year after European governments declined to fully fund their part of the project in December.

ESA says doomed Mars lander succumbed to bad altitude reading

30 November 2016 Stephen Clark

One second of faulty data led to the destruction of a European spacecraft on final descent to Mars in October.

New images resolve finer details of Mars lander’s crash site

28 October 2016 Stephen Clark

Imagery captured by a sharp-eyed camera aboard a NASA orbiter shows where Europe’s Schiaparelli lander cratered on Mars last week, exploding into fine bits of shrapnel and debris after after an apparent software problem doomed the mission, officials said Thursday.

Mars orbiter locates Schiaparelli lander’s crash site

21 October 2016 Stephen Clark

Views from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter released Friday show the crash site where Europe’s experimental Schiaparelli lander fell to the red planet’s surface from a height of several miles, leaving a distinct dark patch on the Martian landscape.

Last data from Schiaparelli Mars lander hold clues to what went wrong

21 October 2016 Stephen Clark

The first sign of trouble from Europe’s Schiaparelli lander came around the time the probe was supposed to jettison its parachute and fire thrusters to brake for touchdown on the vast equatorial plains of Mars, officials said Thursday.

ESA celebrates ExoMars orbiter success, keeps vigil for lost lander

19 October 2016 Stephen Clark

A European-built orbiter designed to seek out the source of methane on Mars slipped into orbit around the red planet Wednesday after a seven-month interplanetary journey, but mission control lost contact with an experimental landing probe just before touchdown.

Live coverage: ExoMars orbiter safely arrives at Mars, lander’s fate uncertain

19 October 2016 Stephen Clark

Live coverage of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander arriving at Mars. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

Recently active lava flows from volcano Idunn Mons on Venus

19 October 2016 Astronomy Now

Planetary researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have pushed the limits of the data resolution from ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft. With this new technique, analysis of the top and eastern flank of 200-kilometre-wide volcano Idunn Mons in the southern hemisphere of Venus revealed an indication of geologically recent volcanism in this area.