News archive

News archive

Key mechanism for star formation found?
What causes new stars to form inside clouds of gas and dust in space? A team of astronomers using the European Space Agency's infrared space observatory, ISO, believes they have taken a big step towards answering this question. They announced today in Chicago (US), at the American Astronomical Society meeting, the first ever space-based detection of weak magnetic fields in a distant region in which stars are being formed. The differences between these magnetic fields and those from regions with no star formation have revealed what could be the key factor in triggering the birth of new stars.
Published: 2 June 1999
Prototype for 'FIRST' mirror successfully tested
Imagine you make a large and thin surface out of a special material, and then you polish it to make it so uniform that its 'bumps' are lower than one thousandth of a millimetre. Now guess: would your smooth surface survive if you put it under a load fifteen times that of the usual gravity on Earth? And what if you then made it endure a quick, sharp change in temperature of hundreds of degrees?
Published: 1 June 1999
Cluster FM7 gets a long-distance call
How can anyone be sure that communications between the four satellites and the Earth will not break down once the Cluster II spacecraft are placed in orbit? The obvious answer is to test the system and see whether itworks.
Published: 28 May 1999
How to build a satellite - ESA's Integral
To have a look at ESA's Integral spacecraft you have to travel to Turin,Italy. At Alenia Aerospazio engineers are running electrical tests on thegamma-ray observatory that will be launched in 2001.
Published: 28 May 1999
XMM now standing 10 metres tall and launch in sight!
The European Space Agency's X-ray astronomy mission XMM is today one step closer to lift-off, with the mating of the two halves of the satellite. This occurred on 26 May at the ESTEC technical centre at Noordwijk in the Netherlands. ESA's second 'cornerstone' mission is now just over six months away from launch.
Published: 26 May 1999
XMM updates from the test floor
With the XMM mission just over six months from launch, the XMM web page nowpresents regular updates. Starting with the mating of the spacecraft's upper and lower halves, due to take place today, 26 May, this page will offer regularly updated views of XMM in the integration area of the ESTEC test facilities.Last Update 16:55h
Published: 25 May 1999
A little more money and a lot more challenge for ESA's Science Programme
ESA's Scientific Programme Committee (SPC), which met in Bern on 19-20 May, took an optimistic view of the decisions taken at Ministerial level in Brussels on 11-12 May. The SPC judged that the level of resources was sufficient to proceed with the approved projects of the Science Programme. After review of the available means and of the Council's assumptions, the SPC confirmed in particular Mars Express, scheduled for launch in 2003. "Following the conditional approval of Mars Express in November 1998, and given the Executive's assessment that the conditions are fulfilled up to the end of 2001, the SPC confirms that Mars Express can proceed", the text of the Resolution states.
Published: 21 May 1999
Achieving the impossible (interview Prof. Balsiger)
For three years Swiss physicist Hans Balsiger has been chairman of ESA'sScience Programme Committee (SPC). On May 19 and 20Balsiger chaired his last meeting of the SPC in his hometown of Berne. Askedabout his experiences, he was enthusiastic about ESA's successfulscientific missions but also criticized the budgetary constraints.
Published: 21 May 1999
Ulysses is investigating what lies between us and the stars
In addition to its well-known role as explorer of the region of space above the poles of our star the Sun, ESA's Ulysses spacecraft has provided scientists with a glimpse of conditions in the distant reaches of space beyond the boundary of the heliosphere. Instruments on board the out-of-ecliptic pathfinder are making unique measurements of dust particles and gas from the cloud of interstellar material surrounding the heliosphere, allowing scientists to learn more about the history of our solar system. These and other results from the Ulysses mission, now in its ninth year of highly successful operations, are featured in an article by the ESA project scientist, Richard Marsden, in the June issue of the popular astronomy magazine, Astronomy Now.
Published: 21 May 1999
Cluster II Science Working Team reports
Some 60 scientists and engineers from most of the ESA member countries andthe United States gathered at ESTEC in The Netherlands, 18-19 May, for the latest meeting of the Cluster II Science Working Team (SWT). With a little over one year to go before the dual launches of the four Cluster II spacecraft, the message coming across loud and clear was "Two Down, Two To Go".
Published: 20 May 1999
ESA introduces its Director of Science Medal
Extraordinary efforts made by individuals who take part in ESA's scientific missions are now to be recognized by a special ESA award called the Director ofScience Medal. At a ceremony in Bern, Switzerland, on 19 May 1999, thefirst four medals were presented to "stars" of the Hipparcos mission,Catherine Turon and Jean Kovalevsky from France, Lennart Lindegren fromSweden and Erik Høg from Denmark.
Published: 19 May 1999
Dynamical consequences of helioseismological inferences from SOHO
Helioseismology is the study of seismic waves in the Sun; it enables us tolearn the internal structure and the rotation from the solar surfacealmost all the way to the centre. The methods by which the data areanalysed are similar to those that geoseismologists use to diagnose thestructure of the Earth.The Space Science internal seminar on 7 May, "Dynamical consequences of helioseismological inferences from SOHO', was given by Douglas Gough, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, and co-investigator on all three helioseismological investigations aboard SOHO.
Published: 17 May 1999
SOHO ready for next cosmic events
Three months after a challenging, long-distance space rescue, the European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is preparing for two important cosmic events: the 11 August solar eclipse in Europe and Asia - the last of this millennium - and an increase in solar activity on the Sun itself, called a solar maximum - thefirst of the next millennium.
Published: 17 May 1999
Ministers shape the future of European space activities
Ministers of the Member States of the European Space Agency (ESA) today set challenging objectives for the future of European space activities and approved major new programmes to achieve them.Meeting in Brussels on 11 and 12 May, the 14 member countries of ESA, together with Canada, which has a co-operation agreement with the Agency, approved investments in new space-related development programmes. Newly elected ESA Ministerial Council Chairman Lord Sainsbury, the UK space minister, told waiting international journalists :"The ESA Member States have given a great boost to the whole European space community. The new investments agreed will underpin the development of new jobs in multi-billion euro knowledge-based industries in the next decade".For more information, see ESA Press Release No. 17-99
Published: 12 May 1999
From Near Earth Asteroids to water on Mars - astronomers review latest ISO results
Near-Earth Asteroids - asteroids whose orbits bring them close to Earth - very likely originate from collisions between larger asteroids thatorbit the Sun between the planets Mars and Jupiter. This result, obtained byESA's infrared space telescope, ISO, was presented yesterday at the workshop onISO results on Solar System, held at ESA's Villafranca SatelliteTracking Station in Spain. Other findings related to the atmosphere of Mars and the giant planets - Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus - were also presented during a press conference yesterday morning.
Published: 11 May 1999
XMM team savours the flavour of Kourou
With the spacecraft's launch on Ariane-5 only just over half a year away, a delegation from the XMM team has just returned from a visit to Kourou. XMM is presently undergoing last verification tests at ESTEC and the next milestone towards launch - the mating of its two halves - will take place on 26 May.
Published: 11 May 1999
Astro-E observing time for European astronomers announced
Astro-E is the fifth in the series of Japanese astronomy satellitesdevoted to observations of celestial X-ray sources.Astro-E is a joint Japanese-US mission and its launch is planned forFebruary 2000. The broad bandpass of Astro-E, combined with high resolution spectroscopy capabilities,makes it a unique tool to study manyproblems in astrophysics, such as the origins of elements andstructures in the Universe as well as the evolution of these structures.
Published: 10 May 1999
ESA's Hipparcos project scientist to give George Darwin lecture
This year's UK Royal Astronomical Society George Darwin Lecturewill be given by Dr Michael Perryman, Astrophysics Division, ESTEC, on 'A Stereoscopic View of our Galaxy'.On Friday 14 May, the Royal Astronomical Society will hold their179th Annual General Meeting at the Scientific Societies Lecture Theatre,in Savile Row, London. The annual George Darwin Lecture, establishedin 1927, covers all fields of astronomy excluding planetary science,and preference is given to a lecturer normally resident outside the UK.This year's lecturer is Dr Michael Perryman, from ESA's Space ScienceDepartment, known for his work as Hipparcos Project Scientistbetween 1981 and 1997. He will talk on the scientific results from theHipparcos mission, and will use a series of novel three-dimensionalstereo images of star fields to illustrate his talk.
Published: 10 May 1999
Rosetta Lander put through its paces
No spacecraft has yet landed on the surface of a comet. But this will change in 2012 when the Rosetta lander will set down on the nucleus of Comet Wirtanen and return a flood of unique data about this primitive chunk of dirty ice.In order to ensure the success of such an ambitious project, a full-size structural-thermal model of the spacecraft has been undergoing anexhaustive series of tests at the Ottobrunn (Munich) facilities of IABG.
Published: 10 May 1999
Shaping the future of Europe in Space: which programmes, which needs?
On 11 and 12 May, ESA's governing body, the Council, will meet at its ministerial level in Brussels. The main objective of thismeeting is to shape the future of the space sector in Europe by setting a space policy that will allow the Old Continent to continueplaying a major role in space activities.The Ministers in charge of space activities will be asked to endorse ESA's new strategy and its role in working with national players,intergovernmental organisations, EU institutions and industry to respond to the challenges of the next millennium.
Published: 10 May 1999
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