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News archive

News archive

Huygens fifth checkout successfully completed during night of 2 February
The fifth in-flight Huygens checkout was successfully completed during the night of 2 to 3 February. The Probe was switched on at 23:00 UTC on 2February and switched OFF at 02:50 UTC on 3 February. The data came down with a 25 min delay due to the propagation time of the radio signal from Cassini/Huygens to the Earth. The telemetry data were made available to the Huygens Flight Operations Team at HPOC at ESOC in Darmstadt (D). A preliminary evaluation of the data by the Flight Operations Team indicates that all subsystems and experiments performed as expected.
Published: 2 February 2000
SMART-1 spacecraft and payload take shape for Moon journey
It was with added enthusiasm that the key players in the SMART-1 mission gathered at ESTEC on 31 January and 1 February for their sixth Science and Technology Working Team meeting. It was the first reunion since ESA's lunar mission and its science and technology payload were given the final go-ahead last November. SMART-1 is the first of the Agency's Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology.
Published: 2 February 2000
PR 08-2000: Inflatable re-entry shield ready for test in space
In high-speed-approach landings on distant planets having an atmosphere, space probes are usually protected by rigid heat shields, while their descent is slowed down by parachutes to reduce the impact. In recent years, new technologies have been developed to replace these bulky heat shield and parachute systems.
Published: 2 February 2000
PR 07-2000: ESA's X-ray space observatory XMM takes first pictures
The European Space Agency's X-ray space observatory has taken its very first pictures giving new views on the Universe. The commissioning images confirm that the XMMspacecraft, its X-ray telescopes and science instruments are functioning perfectly, to the great satisfaction of all involved.
Published: 2 February 2000
5th Huygens in-flight checkout tonight 23:00 UT
The 5th Huygens Probe in-flight checkout and other Huygens test activities take place 2-5 February. The checkout will be activated tonight at 23:00 CET and lasts for 4 hours. Yesterday, the spacecraft was successfully re-oriented so as to point its High Gain Antenna (HGA) towards Earth. This makes it possible to get high-rate telemetry in real time. The Probe checkout will be executed in direct visibility from the Goldstone Deep Space Network (DSN) station and thus data will arrive in quasi-real time (at 300 000 kms-1 radio waves take about 20 minutes to reach in Earth) at the Huygens Probe Control Centre at ESOC, Darmstadt (D) through the Cassini Control Centre at JPL.
Published: 1 February 2000
ISO results in space chemistry to be presented in Madrid 4 February
Press conference 4 FebruaryThe stars are the chemical factories of the Universe: they synthesise intheir cores new chemical elements that combine in the stellar outskirtsto produce new molecules, and these will become part of the raw materialout of which more stars, planets, and maybe even living organisms willform. ESA's infrared space telescope, ISO, has identified many of thesecompounds in space. About 150 astronomers, including many experts in space-chemistry, will present and discuss results in the field at ESA's Villafranca station, in Madrid, Spain, from 2 to 4 February.
Published: 30 January 2000
Rosetta STM passes acceleration trials
Environmental tests on the Structural Thermal Model (STM) of the Rosettaspacecraft are back in full swing after the long break for Christmas andMillennium celebrations. The latest endurance trial, known as a Sine (orSinusoidal) Test, was successfully completed today in the giant check-outroom at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in theNetherlands.
Published: 30 January 2000
SOHO shows magnificant solar fireworks
Over the weekend of 8-10 January, a fortunate turn of events enabled the SOHO/EIT instrument to capture a magnificant solar firework display. Spectacular movies and high-resolution images are available on the SOHO hot shots page.
Published: 27 January 2000
Beagle 2 team assesses landing sites
The Beagle 2 team has selected two potential landing sites on Mars for further study. In the latest issue of the Beagle 2 Bulletin, John Bridges from the Natural History Museum, London, who is leading the landing site study, writes: "The prospective areas are within the Chryse and Tritonis Lacus regions. Both are at low elevation, which gives more opportunity for the parachutes to brake the descent of Beagle 2. The latitude of the two sites, about 190N, means that the mission will begin during the Martian late spring, when there is more solar energy to charge batteries and nighttime temperatures are relatively high, making it easier to keep the spacecraft warm.
Published: 25 January 2000
First Mars Express hardware delivered
The Mars Express project has moved from the drawing board to the test bench. The first piece of hardware, a unit for the on-board computer, has been delivered to the prime contractor, Matra Marconi Space (MMS), Toulouse.
Published: 23 January 2000
Hubble reopens eye on the Universe
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is back in business, as made dramatically evident in stunning new celestial pictures of remote galaxies and a colourful dying star released today.
Published: 23 January 2000
Launch challenge as Rosetta scientists meet for mission update
Exactly three years to go before launch! That was the challenge facingapproximately 80 scientists and mission managers from ESA member countriesand the United States as they gathered this week at the European SpaceResearch and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in The Netherlands for a progressreport on the Rosetta mission to Comet Wirtanen.
Published: 23 January 2000
Armchair astronomy - catch a supernova from home?
Once upon a time astronomers were passionate star-lovers who were eagerto climb up a mountain just to get the clearest view of the night sky.Not anymore. It seems that the climbing - though not the passion -can now be avoided. On 12 January a supernova explosion was discovered byan Italian amateur astronomer who was operating a telescope from his homecomputer, via the Internet. And it is not the first time it has happened: the samegroup found another supernova in the same way just before Christmas. "Of coursewe are very excited about these findings!", says Alessandro Dimai, one of the happy discoverers.
Published: 20 January 2000
ISO finds the precursors of the complex organic molecules in space
The clouds of gas and dust grains in interstellar space contain complex organic molecules made of hundreds of chained carbon atoms. The European Space Agency's infrared space telescope, ISO, has detected these molecules in many different environments and is now unveiling the chemical paths leading to their formation in space. A group of Spanish astronomers have detected for the first time outside the Solar System two molecules that could be the precursors for the formation of the more complex organic compounds. The newly found molecules, detected in two very old stars, are diacetylene and triacetylene (C4H2 and C6H2).
Published: 19 January 2000
XMM observed from Earth
Following a suggestion from members of the Flight Dynamics department at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany,an amateur astronomer in Australia has managed to take a picture of XMM in orbit.
Published: 18 January 2000
Blood-red eclipse no glasses required!
The new year starts with another eclipse. No need however to retrieve those special sunglasses left over from last August! On the night of 20-21 January, we will be offered a total lunar eclipse.
Published: 17 January 2000
Complex organic molecules form quickly in old stars
Chemical synthesis of complex organic molecules, the most basic 'buildingblocks' for life, can occur rapidly in stellar environments, according toresults obtained with the European Space Agency's infrared spaceobservatory, ISO, and presented last Saturday at the AmericanAstronomical Society meeting in Atlanta by a team of astronomers.
Published: 16 January 2000
Jupiter delights Cassini's European scientists
Saturn and its mysterious moon Titan are the primary target of the NASA/ESA CassiniHuygens mission, but the final destination is still a long way away. The spacecraft, which has just passed the closest approach in a swing-by of Jupiter, will take four more years to reach the 'king of the rings' and start studying its atmosphere, rings, interior and magnetic field environment, as well as Titan and the planet's other moons. Huygens, ESA's first planetary probe, will have to wait longer, until after arrival at Saturn, to enter Titan's atmosphere and explore this mysterious cold world.
Published: 14 January 2000
Servicing Mission 3A Summary
After months of delays because of wiring defects, an engine swap and replacement of a crushed liquid hydrogen line, NASA launched Discovery into space on Hubble Servicing Mission 3A Monday 20 December at 01:50 CET.The main objectives for the mission were to replace Hubble's faulty gyroscopes, and other equipment, such as the computer, a Fine Guidance Sensor, a radio transmitter and a Solid State Recorder.
Published: 13 January 2000
Mars Express construction begins
Construction of the Mars Express spacecraft can now begin, after final approval for the design was granted on Tuesday. A meeting chaired by Roger Bonnet, ESA's Director of Scientific Programmes, and Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director for Science Strategy and Technical Assessment, gave the approval after hearing a presentation on the findings of the science and engineering review team. The review team had endorsed the Mars Express design last December, after spending a week poring over the plans at the offices of Matra Marconi Space (MMS) in Toulouse. Starsem, the company that is providing the Fregat-Soyuz launcher, and MMS also presented their latest activities yesterday.
Published: 12 January 2000
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