ESA Top Multimedia

Watch ESA’s Mars chief engineer Albert Haldemann explain the sterilisation process of one of the parachutes of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission and why it matters.  

Carefully wrapped inside a donut-shaped bag is a 35-m diameter parachute, about to be baked inside a specialised dry-heat steriliser oven. The parachute needs to be at least 10 000 times cleaner than your smartphone. 

To get rid of any microbes it might have picked up during its time on Earth, the parachute was heated up in a specialised oven at the European Space Agency’s Life Support and Physical Sciences Laboratory at ESTEC, the agency’s technical centre in the Netherlands. All air inside the cleanroom continuously passes through a two-stage filter, and everyone entering the chamber must gown up more rigorously than a surgeon before passing through an air shower to remove any contaminants. 

The 74 kg parachute, made mostly of nylon and Kevlar fabrics, will endure a six-minute dive into the thin martian atmosphere and slow down the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover for a safe landing on the Red Planet. This feat will make it the largest parachute ever to fly on the Red Planet, or anywhere else in the Solar System besides Earth.  

The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission will launch in 2028 and spend over 25 months travelling to the Red Planet where it will search for signs of life beneath the martian surface. 

The potential existence of past and perhaps even present-day life on our closest planetary neighbour requires rigorous sterilisation, to make sure that no microbes piggyback their way there from Earth. Any terrestrial microbes hardy enough to survive the ride through space could interfere with the investigation by causing ‘forward contamination’ and triggering a false positive. 

Protecting the martian environment from ourselves, in accordance with international planetary protection measures, is as important as protecting the mission itself. 

Starry spiral in a familiar neighbourhood

Mekong River, Cambodia

Ariane 6 lifts off for flight VA268

This picture is one of a set published by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot on social media with the following caption:

Day 070, orbit 1085 — In microgravity, astronauts’ eyes can be affected because fluids in the body shift upward, changing the pressure around and inside the eyes. This is known as Spaceflight‑Associated Neuro‑Ocular Syndrome (SANS) and it can lead to farsightedness and changes in visual sharpness.To keep a close eye on this, we undergo regular vision checks throughout the mission.

These involve several tests, including an OCT - Optical Coherence Tomography. OCT takes detailed images of the back of the eye, including the retina, which are sent to our flight surgeons to monitor how our eyes respond to living in microgravity!

Changes related to the SANS syndrome are usually reversible after our return to 1g gravity. However, the lessons learned by monitoring astronaut’s eyes in microgravity help doctors on Earth better understand how pressure and fluid shifts affect vision, and how to protect something as precious as our eyesight.

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Jour 070, orbite 1085 – Les yeux des astronautes peuvent être affectés en micropesanteur car les fluides du corps ont tendance à remonter vers la tête, modifiant la pression autour et à l’intérieur des yeux. Ce phénomène est connu sous le nom de syndrome neuro‑oculaire associé aux vols spatiaux (SANS) et il peut entraîner une hypermétropie ainsi que des changements de l’acuité visuelle.Pour garder un œil attentif là-dessus, nous réalisons des examens de la vision réguliers tout au long de la mission.

Ceux‑ci comprennent plusieurs tests, dont la tomographie en cohérence optique, ou OCT, qui permet d’obtenir des images très détaillées de l’arrière de l’œil, notamment de la rétine. Ces images sont transmises à nos médecins de vol afin de suivre la manière dont nos yeux réagissent à la vie en micropesanteur !

Les changements liés au SANS sont généralement réversibles après notre retour à une gravité de 1 g. Néanmoins, les enseignements tirés de la surveillance des yeux des astronautes en micropesanteur aident les médecins sur Terre à mieux comprendre comment les variations de pression et la redistribution des fluides affectent la vision – et comment protéger quelque chose d’aussi précieux que notre vue.

Date: 17-04-2026

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The islands of Aeolia, the home of Aeolus, keeper of the winds in Greek mythology, were a fitting location to explore the legacy of the European Space Agency’s trailblazing wind satellite, and the future of spaceborne Doppler wind lidars.

Aeolus was a remarkable achievement. Its ALADIN instrument used innovative laser technology and the Doppler effect to measure vertical profiles of Earth’s winds on a global scale for the very first time from space.

At the Aeolus science conference in Lipari, April 2026, we discovered the history of this pioneering feat - and how the hard work developing Aeolus has helped the development of current instruments such as EarthCARE’s atmospheric lidar (ATLID) and paved the way for the future operational EPS Aeolus/Aeolus-2 mission – a joint endeavour between ESA and EUMETSAT.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image highlights a distinctive cloud formation north of the Canary Islands of Tenerife and La Gomera.

Recent changes observed in Antarctica show some characteristics in common with changes to the Greenland Ice Sheet.

After an intense few weeks the crew took time to celebrate together with a shared meal proposed by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot.

It’s a long‑standing tradition: each ESA astronaut works with a chef to create a few special dishes reserved for rare occasions — known as “bonus food”. Sophie’s bonus food was created by multi‑Michelin‑starred chef Anne‑Sophie Pic, offering the crew a taste of French gastronomy far from Earth.

Bonus food, tailored to specific crew members, makes up around one tenth of an astronaut’s menu. Astronauts say it adds variety to their meals, supports mental well‑being, and helps strengthen bonds among the crew in orbit.

Medical doctor Sarah Gaier in the ESA lab at Concordia station in Antarctia.

This timelapse video captures the activities to move Plato into the Large Space Simulator (LSS) at ESA’s Test Centre. Inside the LSS, Europe's largest cryo-vacuum chamber, Plato had to demonstrate that it can withstand the extreme temperatures and vacuum of space.

In the video we see how engineers used a special crane to lift Plato out of a cleanroom through an opening in the ceiling and move it over the top opening of the LSS. Then, the spacecraft was gently lowered into the dark-walled chamber, all the way down to a supporting frame that holds the spacecraft in place.

Once the chamber’s top and side hatches were sealed, engineers began a series of vital tests of the spacecraft under space‑like conditions.

Many of the tests were designed to verify that Plato’s 26 cameras performed as required for achieving the mission’s main goal: to discover potentially habitable, Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars.

In the video, Plato’s delicate cameras are covered with a blanket to protect them from stray dust particles.

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English

From 13 to 17 April, ESA’s Centre for Earth Observation in Frascati, ESRIN, hosted the 2026 edition of ESA School Days, welcoming students from across Italy for a week dedicated to space and science.

Throughout the week, participants took part in presentations, interactive laboratories and hands-on activities, exploring how ESA studies our planet and the wider Universe. Activities included: sessions dedicated to European launchers, Ariane 6 and Vega C, as well as the future reusable vehicle Space Rider, model rocket launch demonstrations, as well as meteorite and asteroid workshops and guided visits to the Earth Observation Multimedia Centre. This initiative aimed to inspire younger generations by raising awareness of scientific research, environmental protection and climate change, while fostering curiosity, teamwork and interest in STEM disciplines. The event was organised with contributions from ESERO Italia and the Italian Space Agency.

Italiano

Dal 13 al 17 aprile, ESRIN, il Centro dell’Agenzia Spaziale Europea dedicato ai Programmi di Osservazione della Terra a Frascati, ha ospitato l’edizione 2026 degli ESA School Days, accogliendo studenti provenienti da tutta Italia per una settimana dedicata allo spazio e alla scienza.

Durante la settimana, i partecipanti hanno preso parte a presentazioni, laboratori interattivi ed esperienze pratiche, esplorando come l’ESA studia la Terra e indaga l’Universo. Tra le attività: sessioni dedicate ai lanciatori europei, Ariane 6 e Vega C ed al futuro veicolo riutilizzabile Space Rider, dimostrazioni di lancio di razzi-modello, laboratori su meteoriti e asteroidi e visite guidate al Centro Multimediale di Osservazione della Terra. L’iniziativa ha avuto l’obiettivo di ispirare le giovani generazioni, sensibilizzandole su temi come la ricerca scientifica, la tutela dell’ambiente e il cambiamento climatico, promuovendo curiosità, lavoro di squadra e interesse verso le discipline STEM. L’evento è stato realizzato con il contributo di ESERO Italia e dell’Agenzia Spaziale Italiana.

The first full-size test model of the European Space Agency’s reusable spacecraft Space Rider is complete is now complete. This video shows the model being finalised at the Italian Aerospace Research Centre in Capua, Italy.

The drop-test model was built in Craiova, Romania, at Romania’s National Institute for Aerospace Research ‘Elie Carafoli’ (INCAS) before being shipped to the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA) in Capua, Italy. CIRA is responsible for the design, integration, and implementation of the drop test.

Roughly the size of a mini-van, the drop-test model is a full-size stand-in for the 4.6-m long reentry module, Space Rider lands on skis with the landing gear permanently open on this model as the mechanism is not part of the drop test.

Space Rider is set to be the first reusable European spacecraft. The uncrewed robotic laboratory will stay in low orbit for about two months. Space Rider’s cargo bay will allow for all manner of experiments and operations to be run. At the end of its missions, Space Rider reentry module will return to Earth, gliding under a parafoil to land on a runway.

“Fly” through the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s view of the Trifid Nebula. The video “floats” over the ridges of gas and dust and moves up toward Herbig-Haro 399, at the top of a brown cloud that resembles a head with horns.

The thinner, irregular line pointing left formed from the ejections of an actively forming star.

To its left is a small, faint pillar. Much of this pillar’s gas and dust has been blown away, but the densest material at the top persists.

Access the video on esahubble.org.