ESA Science & Technology

INTEGRAL in the Journals

A number of interesting papers have recently been published based on data gathered by INTEGRAL - ESA's gamma-ray observatory. They cover a range of observations covering all the capabilities of the spacecraft.

Published: 16 August 2005

From 'macro' to 'micro': turbulence seen by Cluster

Thanks to measurements by ESA's Cluster mission, a team of European scientists have identified 'micro' -vortices in Earth's magnetosphere. Such small-scale vortex turbulence, whose existence was predicted through mathematical models, has not been observed before in space. The results are not only relevant for space physics, but also for other applications like research on nuclear fusion.

Published: 11 August 2005

First direct measurements of the ring current

A publication in the Annales Geophysicae reports on the first ever measurement of the current density in the ring current region using data from the Cluster spacecraft.

Published: 28 July 2005

Five Years of Formation Flying with Cluster

The 16 July 2005 marks the 5th anniversary of the launch of the first two Cluster satellites from Baikonur. It also coincides with the end of two months of successful manoeuvres in space for the four spacecraft of the Cluster mission.

Published: 14 July 2005

INTEGRAL OMC Catches A GRB

The OMC onboard INTEGRAL was triggered via the INTEGRAL Burst Alert System last week in an attempt to view the optical counterpart to a Gamma-ray Burst. Unfortunately the star alpha Crucis got in the way.

Published: 8 July 2005

Industrial ITT Documentation Released

Published: 1 July 2005

Solar Orbiter Executive Report

The Science Payloads and Advanced Concepts Office recently published an assessment phase report on the Solar Orbiter mission.

Published: 29 June 2005

Establishment of a Data Analysis Coordination Committee

Published: 27 June 2005

Recent Results from Huygens Data

Five months after its successful descent onto Titan, scientists analyzing data from the various instruments have begun to publish a wide range of results.

Published: 17 June 2005

MARSIS 2nd Boom Deployed

The second 20-metre antenna boom of the MARSIS instrument on board Mars Express was successfully - and smoothly - deployed, confirmed the ground team at ESA's European Space Operations Centre, 16 June.

Published: 17 June 2005

Gaia CCD Contract Signed

The development of the Gaia 1.5 giga-pixel detector plane began last week with the signing of a contract between ESA and e2v Technologies.

Published: 13 June 2005

Discovery of Martian Aurora

Bertaux et al. report in the science journal Nature that SPICAM observations of the Martian nightside limb have found the first evidence of auroral activity in the Martian atmosphere

Published: 10 June 2005

Possible Cryovolcano on Titan

Titan possesses a dense atmosphere with a surface pressure of 1.5 bar and with N2 as its main constituent. Methane is the second most important component, but it is photodissociated on a timescale of 107 years. Because methane is still observed in Titan's atmosphere a replenishment process must be taking place through either surface, or subsurface, hydrocarbons.

Published: 9 June 2005