Posted on Friday June 20th, 2025 by Marie Deschamps
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot’s first mission to the International Space Station has been named: εpsilon. The mission name and patch were unveiled today at the Paris Air Show by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Sophie Adenot, who joined remotely from the United States, where she is continuing preparations for her […]
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Posted on Tuesday May 20th, 2025 by Laura
As the countdown to Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) enters its final phase, ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski has completed an intensive training programme across the globe. Scheduled to launch no earlier than 8 June 2025, Ax-4 will take him and his crewmates to the International Space Station for a two-week mission focused on science, technology and international collaboration.
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Posted on Wednesday April 23rd, 2025 by Marie Deschamps
Now on the way to its new home in space, ESA’s Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) will soon be ready to explore some of the most fundamental questions in physics, from the nature of gravity to the definition of time itself. At the heart of ACES are two complementary clocks: the caesium-based PHARAO and […]
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Posted on Thursday April 17th, 2025 by Marie Deschamps
In just a few days, ESA’s Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) will launch to the International Space Station, carrying the most accurate timepieces ever sent to orbit. This pioneering mission is set to revolutionise timekeeping, enabling ultra-precise global time synchronisation and opening up new frontiers in fundamental physics research. Here are 7 things you […]
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Posted on Thursday April 10th, 2025 by Marie Deschamps
Timekeeping is about to reach new heights with ACES, the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space. Built by Airbus for ESA, ACES will be launched to the International Space Station on 21 April and installed outside ESA’s Columbus laboratory. The instrument features two cutting-edge atomic clocks, PHARAO and SHM, which will work together to generate the […]
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Posted on Thursday March 6th, 2025 by Marie Deschamps
Born in Italy, Sara Pastor graduated in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Torino in 1998. After a brief experience in the automotive industry, she worked in Alenia Space in Turin (now Thales Alenia Space), before moving to ESA in 2003 at its technical site in the Netherlands. Initially, Sara worked on the preparation of ESA’s […]
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Posted on Thursday February 27th, 2025 by Marie Deschamps
ESA’s Argonaut represents Europe’s autonomous and versatile access to the Moon, supporting international exploration endeavours on the lunar surface. The spacecraft will support several missions to the Moon, launching aboard a four-booster Ariane 6 in the next decade. The spacecraft has two main elements: the Lunar Descent Element, which takes care of flying to the […]
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Posted on Friday January 3rd, 2025 by Marie Deschamps
The year is 2035. An Ariane 6 rocket blazes into the sky, delivering an Argonaut mission to the Moon. On the lunar surface, astronauts and robots work hand in hand, pushing the boundaries of exploration, uncovering the Moon’s secrets, and bringing knowledge and innovation back to Earth for the benefit of all. Also known as […]
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