ESA
May 9th, 2003
Picture Mars first round winners
How do you visualise the Red Planet? If you would like to share your ideas with thousands of ESA Portal visitors, there is still time. The deadline for round 2 is 28 May 2003. You can draw, paint or make a collage of pictures to present your idea of Mars. It could be the planet as seen from Earth, what the lander might find on the surface, life on Mars, or your ideas for the future colonisation of the planet. ESA will select and publish the best of these in a web animation. Images will be selected based on originality and graphic appeal. This invitation is open to all ages and nationalities
May 5th, 2003
ESA sets the date for Mars Express launch
Just before midnight on 2 June (23:45 local time, 19:45 CET) a Soyuz rocket operated by Starsem will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and Mars Express will be on its way. The spacecraft was given the green light to launch following completion of a successful flight readiness review on 3 May.
March 28th, 2003
Space in your wardrobe?
Whether you find yourself in the icy wastes of Antarctica or caught in the midst of a scorching hot fire, you could stay safe and comfortable in either extreme
March 24th, 2003
Pasteur: Payload Opportunities to Search for Life on Mars
Are we alone, or is there life beyond Earth? Has life ever existed on Mars? The European Space Agency (ESA) is now offering scientists a rare opportunity to answer these fundamental questions that have intrigued mankind for centuries. In order to determine whether life ever evolved on Mars, ESA intends to launch an exobiology mission, known as ExoMars, to the Red Planet in 2009. As part of ESA
March 19th, 2003
Mars Express leaves for Baikonur
Mars Express, the first European spacecraft to visit the planet Mars, has completed its tests at Toulouse, France. After six months extensive thermal environmental, mechanical and electric tests, the spacecraft with the Beagle 2 lander will leave for Ba
March 5th, 2003
ESA’s first deep space ground station opens in Western Australia
The inauguration ceremony for the European Space Agency’s first deep space ground station was held today in New Norcia, 150km north of Perth. The completion of the New Norcia facility, its first deep space ground station, is an important event for ESA. The station will play a major role in the Agency’s deep space missions, including Rosetta and Mars Express, the latter expected to launch in May this year.
February 25th, 2003
OK, our next caller is… from Mars!
It is midnight on 1 January 2004 and you want to send a greeting on your mobile phone to a friend. Sorry, the line is too busy, try again later. If you think you are alone with this problem, you are wrong. Space agencies have had to work out ingenious solutions to prevent similar ‘engaged, call later’ tones from happening on Mars. For the first time, there will be seven spacecraft on the Red Planet at the same time. Will they all be able to ‘phone home’?
February 18th, 2003
Calling all students and universities
The European Space Agency (ESA) is looking for innovative, imaginative ideas, concepts and technologies to enhance Europe
January 30th, 2003
Landers feel the heat on space missions
Space is certainly a cold place, but spacecraft have to face extremely high temperatures when they are exposed to the Sun’s radiation. However, there are other extreme situations in which spacecraft are subject to tremendous heat. ESA’s spacecraft must endure temperatures from hell…