go-Ariane

For scientists, no question, how ever awkward or banal, is too stupid. In fact the Nobel prize winner Niels Bohr once said that ‘when a theory is crazy, will it be crazy enough to stand a chance of being correct?’. In this new version of a subject originally broadcast to celebrate the 100th edition of the Euronews-ESA ‘Space’ magazine, Danish astrophysicist Dr. Anja Andersen illustrates the never ending quest of knowledge, giving some startling examples of questions space scientists and engineers often have to ask themselves. A highly enjoyable and entertaining step back from the more frequent highly specialised subjects I have to work on. More & see video »

Back to the subject of asteroids. After the scientific aspects of these “space rocks”, notably with Rosetta’s successful flyby of asteroid Steins last September, we turn to the eventuality that one of these celestial bodies collides with planet Earth. The probability of such an event happening, with possibly catastrophic consequences, is not at all negligeable. More & see video »

Space astronomy missions take many years to prepare. But there comes a time when the spacecraft is practically ready and managers and scientists look forward to the launch and the start of observations. ESA’s next major missions, Herschel and Planck, have now reached that stage and the two spacecraft are preparing for an Ariane 5 launch early next year. More & see video »

With a series of marking moments, 2008 has been a great year for Europe in the domain of human spaceflight and exploration. The success of the ATV has notably opened the door to a next phase: the development of new versions of the spacecraft which would first ensure the return of samples from the International Space Station and in a second step, manned flights. The proposals will be a major item on the agenda of the ESA Council of Ministers in the Hague on 25-26 November. More & see video »

The ESA Science programme, past and future. A review of the mandatory core of the agency’s activities, evoking historic missions and marking moments, and highlighting the key values of space science, investigating the Universe. Featuring ESA’s Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, David Southwood - and a record number of visuals in just 5 and half minutes! More & see video »

After a full report about the end of Ulysses, a very simple video for ESA-Exchanges about how space missions have been helping us better understand the Sun’s influence on the Earth. The video, which evokes possible future missions such as Solar Orbiter, includes material from a much longer interview with ESA’s former Director of Science Roger-Maurice Bonnet. More & see video »

The Jules Verne, maiden voyage of Europe’s Automated Transfer vehicle comes to an end. A firey death, plunging into the Pacific. Preview VNR featuring the highlights of this successful mission. This video also marks the end of my ‘ATV mission’, a lot of fascinating work over more than a year. More & see video »

Four years into its ten-year journey to reach a comet, the European spacecraft Rosetta has been awakened to moonlight as an asteroid probe. The close encounter, due during the night of 5-6 September, will see Rosetta’s cameras take snapshots of asteroid 2867-Steins, never seen at close quarters - a distance of only 800km. Less than a dozen of the hundreds of thousands of asteroids in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter have been visited by spacecraft. More & see video »