Disclaimer

The Science & Technology website of the European Space Agency (ESA) presents news, information and the latest images and videos from the Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration to a broad spectrum of people interested in space and in the Directorate's activities.

This website offers a range of services, including access to scientific information regarding the missions, a multimedia archive, orbital simulations and relevant links to related ESA sites.

We offer users the possibility to keep up-to-date with the missions by providing a subscriber service which provides regular alerts about new content on the website. The latest news, science results, and announcements are also contained in our RSS feed.

Access to the Science & Technology website is provided from ESTEC, The Netherlands.

Disclaimer

Access to, and use of, the ESA Science & Technology website constitutes acceptance of the following general terms and conditions.

Neither ESA nor any other party involved in creating, producing or delivering the website shall be liable for any direct, incidental, consequential, indirect or punitive damages arising out of Users' access to, or use of, the website. The Science & Technology website does not guarantee the accuracy of information provided by external sources and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such data.

Though ESA uses the best technical standards to control its site, material on this website may inadvertently include technical inaccuracies or other errors. We should be grateful if users would notify us of any errors or inaccuracies they may find. Please note that users browse and use the website at their own risk. ESA does not warrant that the functional aspects of the website will be uninterrupted or error free or that this website, or the server that makes it available, are free of viruses or other harmful components. ESA may change material on the site without prior notice.

Access and availability of service and links

The ESA site may contain links and references to third-party websites. These are provided for the convenience and interest of users and on the part of ESA this implies neither responsibility for, nor approval of, information contained in these websites. ESA makes no warranty, either express or implied, as to the accuracy, availability or content of information, text, graphics which are not under the 'esa.int' domain. ESA has not tested any software located on other sites and does not make any representation as to the quality, safety, reliability or suitability of such software.

Personal data privacy

By accessing the ESA website, certain information about users, such as internet protocol (IP) addresses, navigation through the site, software used and time spent, as well as other similar information, will be stored on ESA servers. These will not specifically identify users and the information will be used internally for website traffic analysis only. If users provide unique identifying information, such as name, address and other information on forms stored on this site, this information will be used for statistical purposes only and will not be published or made available for general access.

ESA does not sell or rent its website users' names, addresses, email addresses or other personal information.

If you are registered in the our subscriber database and would like your name to be removed, please click on the unsubscribe link and this will enable you to remove your details from that database.

Use of IP address

The IP address is a number that is automatically given to your computer when you are surfing on the internet. Servers and large computers that host web pages, automatically identify your computer through its IP number. ESA uses IP addresses in order to carry out statistics, however, as IP addresses and personal identification are not linked to each other users remains anonymous.

Use of cookies

Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to an individual hard drive for record-keeping purposes; passwords are not saved in cookies. Cookies help ESA to know which pages are visited most often and helps ESA to ensure that its website responds to users' needs.

If you do not wish to receive a cookie, or if you wish your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, you may use the option on your web browser to disable cookies. Click on the 'help' section of your browser to learn how to change cookie preferences. However, please note that if you disable all cookies you may not be able to take advantage of all the features available on this website.

ESA does not use personal identification details transferred through cookies either for promotion or marketing purposes, nor will such information be shared with a third party.

Forums and discussions

From time to time the ESA Science & Technology website contains bulletin boards, chat rooms, access to mailing lists and other message and communication facilities (collectively termed 'forums'). Users agree to use forums only to send and receive messages and materials that are strictly related to the particular forum. When using an ESA forum users agree not to do any of the following:

• Users may not download, distribute or otherwise publish through the ESA website any content which is libellous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive or in any way violates any laws.
• Forums are for non-commercial use only. Users should not distribute or otherwise publish any material containing any solicitation for funding, advertising or solicitation for goods or services without requesting and receiving prior written approval from ESA.
• Users shall not delete any author attributions, legal notices, proprietary designations or labels from any file that is downloaded nor falsify the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is downloaded.

ESA does not and cannot review every message posted by users on forums and is not responsible for the content of any messages posted. ESA reserves the right to delete, move or edit, at its sole discretion, messages that it deems abusive, defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright laws or unacceptable. Users shall remain solely responsible for the content of their messages.

Users acknowledge that any submissions may be edited, removed, modified, published, transmitted and displayed by ESA.

Users should be aware that all forums and discussion groups are public and not private communications. Further, users acknowledge that chats, postings, conferences and any other form of communication by other users are not endorsed by ESA, and that such communications shall not be considered as having been reviewed, screened or approved by ESA.

Children's privacy

ESA encourages parents or guardians to stay with children under 13 when the children are online and to participate in any interactive activities offered on the website. ESA will not process any personal data of a child under 13 without the previous consent of a parent, guardian, teacher or other person exercising control of the child. No personal data or information will be used for promotional or marketing purposes.

Copyrights

The ESA material available from these pages is copyright-free and may be reproduced without fee, on the following conditions:

• ESA is credited as the source of the material (images/videos etc.). Please include other additional credit information that is posted together with the material.
• The images may not be used to state or imply the endorsement by ESA or any ESA employee of a commercial product, process or service, or used in any other manner that might mislead.
• If an image includes an identifiable person, using that image for commercial purposes may infringe that person's right of privacy, and separate permission should be obtained from the individual.
• We request that you inform us about the material you wish to use and briefly describe how it will be used.

For any further information regarding the ESA Science & Technology website please contact us at: scitech.editorialesa.int