ESA Operations
@esaoperations
From Earth orbit to deep space: sharing the excitement of realtime mission operations at the European Space Agency 🛰🕹️ Home of Space Safety 🛡️💙
🪂 The largest parachute to ever fly on Mars deployed gracefully on Earth, slowing down an @ESA_ExoMars dummy descent module for a safe touchdown. Watch this slow-motion footage captured from the capsule after its release at nearly 30 km above the Arctic Circle. 📽️ Vorticity
Happy International Moon Day! 🌛 Establishing a human presence at the Moon is a formidable challenge. The Moon lacks Earth’s thick atmosphere and magnetic field, leaving human explorers and their technology at greater risk from solar radiation, asteroids and human-made debris.…

We are hiring for two high-level positions: Director of Navigation and Director of Operations. Both positions will be members of the ESA Executive Board and, in that role, will be responsible for contributing to ESA-wide management, supporting the Director General in his…
☀️A new era in space weather forecasting is beginning... Last year, we saw an increase in solar storms that lit up the skies with stunning auroras across Europe. However, these events can be disruptive, effecting power, satellites & communications. Space weather needs to be…
"Every time we have interacted with an asteroid, the reaction has been totally different from what we expected." Check out the replay from Saturday's @AsteroidDay Festival, featuring great speakers from @ESA_Hera, @VirtualTelescop and @NASAJPL! youtube.com/live/HI5RQeVbL…
☄️ Right in the middle of Europe lies a 25 km-wide impact crater left by an asteroid 15 million years ago –today it hosts an entire town. 👩🚀 @esa’s PANGAEA training brings astronauts to the Ries crater in Germany, one of the best-preserved impact craters on Earth, to teach them…
Today, we are at the @AsteroidDay Festival in Luxembourg to share the excitement of ESA's Planetary Defence activities with visitors of all ages! Come and visit us at the ESA stand, or follow the event online at: youtube.com/watch?v=HI5RQe… Event programme: asteroidday.org/events-in-luxe…


Will asteroid 2024 YR4 hit the Moon? 2024 YR4 made headlines this year when its probability of impacting Earth in 2032 briefly rose as high as 3%. While an Earth impact has now been ruled out, the story continues. The final glimpse of the asteroid as it faded from view left it…

Here are the first images from our forest mission 🌳🌴🌲, Biomass — launched less than two months ago: esa.int/Applications/O… (🧵 More images in the replies) 📸 Bolivia This image was created using Biomass's radar instrument and its different polarisation channels, with each…
Today, at the #ParisAirShow, ESA introduced the Solar System Internet 🛰️🌐🌙 We are working with @EsaTelecoms and our partners to develop a network of networks that can provide communication and navigation services to missions at the Moon, Mars and beyond.…

#Proba3 releases first images! Not only it is a demonstration of the mission's formation flying technology… but also a small revolution in the way computer models will simulate the solar corona and create ‘digital eclipses’.
Breaking space news: We have made our own solar eclipse in space! 🌘 Today, we release the first images from our Proba-3 mission, which flies two spacecraft in precise formation to create artificial solar eclipses in orbit. Using a powerful instrument called a coronagraph,…