»» First Vega rocket assembled on launch pad

Friday, January 27, 2012 - ESA's new Vega rocket is now fully assembled on its launch pad. Final preparations are in full swing for the rocket's inaugural flight from Europe's Spaceport. The launch window opens on 9 February.

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»» Concordia - Voyage to the most isolated base on Earth

Friday, January 27, 2012 - Alexander Kumar, the next ESA-sponsored crewmember to stay in Concordia, has arrived safely at the research base in Antarctica. The voyage to one of the remotest places on Earth takes even longer than the voyage to the International Space Station.

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»» The Wild Early Lives of Today's Most Massive Galaxies

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - Using the APEX telescope, a team of astronomers has found the strongest link so far between the most powerful bursts of star formation in the early Universe, and the most massive galaxies found today.

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»» ESA signs contract for Space Station support

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - ESA signed a two-year contract with Astrium on 13 December to provide Industrial Operations Team support to the Agency's human spaceflight activities.

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»» First laser measurements of Europe's Galileo satellites made from Chile

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - The first laser ranging of Europe's new Galileo navigation satellites has been achieved from Concepcion in Chile. Laser contact with the satellites at an altitude of 23 230 km has provided distance measurements with subcentimetre accuracy.

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»» Massive Solar Storm Heads for Earth

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - A large solar flare yesterday triggered a coronal mass ejection travelling at 1400 km/s that will reach Earth today. An energetic eruption of this level can disrupt satellites, so operation teams at ESA and other organisations are closely monitoring the s

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»» The two faces of Titan's dunes

Monday, January 23, 2012 - A new analysis of radar data from the international Cassini spacecraft has revealed regional variations amongst Titan's sand dunes. The result yields new clues to the giant moon's climatic and geological history.

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»» Image: The Helix Nebula in New Colors

Thursday, January 19, 2012 - This picture, taken in infrared light, reveals strands of cold nebular gas that are invisible in images taken in visible light, as well as bringing to light a rich background of stars and galaxies.

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»» European finalists selected in Space Lab student competition

Thursday, January 19, 2012 - Sixty space experiment proposals have been selected as finalists in the YouTube Space Lab student science competition, co-sponsored by ESA. Judges must now select the two top entries to be flown on the International Space Station.

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»» Vega rocket ready for first flight

Thursday, January 19, 2012 - Final checkout of Europe's new Vega launcher was completed last Friday, marking another milestone towards its maiden flight from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

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»» European space strategy: call for adequate funding

Thursday, January 19, 2012 - The EU's Galileo satellite navigation programme should get proper long-term funding and its GMES earth observation programme should be officially included in the EU's long-term budget, according to a report by Italian EPP member Aldo Patriciello.

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»» Engineering Team Completes Ambitious Antarctic Expedition in the 'Deep-Field'

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - Enduring temperatures of minus 35 degree C the Subglacial Lake Ellsworth 'Advance Party' has successfully paved the way to explore an ancient lake buried beneath 3 km of Antarctic ice.

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»» A New View of an Icon: The Eagle Nebula

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - The ESA Herschel Space Observatory's new image shows the pillars and the wide field of gas and dust around them. Captured in far-infrared wavelengths, the image allows astronomers to see inside the pillars and structures in the region.

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»» Music and Space Travel (with video)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - Music has accompanied humans into space since the earliest years of spaceflight. Music and space, it seems, have a deep association, with some pieces becoming permanently connected with space in popular culture.

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