Green light for continued operations of ESA science missions 07 December 2017 ESA's Science Programme Committee (SPC) has approved indicative extensions, up to 2019-2020, for the operation of eight scientific missions. Read more

Stellar motions in nearby galaxy hint at underlying dark matter 27 November 2017 By pinning down, for the first time, the three-dimensional motions of individual stars in the nearby Sculptor dwarf galaxy, astronomers have shed new light on the distribution of invisible dark matter that pervades the galaxy. Read more

Hubble and Gaia team up to measure 3D stellar motion with record-breaking precision [heic1719] 27 November 2017 A team of astronomers used data from both the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESA's Gaia satellite to directly measure the 3D motions of individual stars in a nearby galaxy. Read more

How do you find a star cluster? Easy, simply count the stars 15 November 2017 It's the perfect meeting of old and new. Astronomers have combined the latest data from ESA's Gaia mission with a simple analysis technique from the 18th century to discover a massive star cluster that had previously escaped detection. Now, subsequent investigations are helping reveal the star-forming history of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. Read more

#9: The CHEOPS scientific instrument is complete 06 December 2017 The scientific instrument at the heart of the CHEOPS mission has been fully assembled, marking an important milestone in the development of this small, fast-track exoplanet-characterising mission. Read more

#13: Testing the coolest instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope 18 October 2017 As the James Webb Space Telescope progresses toward launch, the telescope and its scientific instruments are undergoing an arduous series of checks to ensure their flight readiness. Read more

#8: Preparing the CHEOPS spacecraft platform and simulating mission operations 12 July 2017 In our previous update, we reported on the delivery of the CHEOPS telescope from Florence to Bern. While the scientific payload is being assembled in Switzerland, work in Spain has focused on preparing the spacecraft platform that will carry the payload and provide power, propulsion, communications, and thermal control. Read more

#12: Testing times for JWST 16 June 2017 The journey to launch for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is – literally – a testing time for the groundbreaking observatory. After demonstrating that it can come through the ordeal of vibrations and loud sounds associated with a launch, the telescope and its instruments have now been moved to Houston, Texas, for a final three-month test campaign in frigid, sub-zero temperatures. Read more

#7: CHEOPS telescope arrives at new home 04 May 2017 A major milestone for the CHEOPS mission was passed on 28 April 2017, when the telescope flight model was delivered to the University of Bern by Leonardo-Finmeccanica, on behalf of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). Read more

Cosmic Vision M4 candidate missions: presentation event 05 May 2017 ARIEL, THOR, and XIPE, the three candidates for the M4 medium-class mission in ESA's Science Programme, will be presented to the science community at a special event in Paris on 3 July 2017. The deadline to register for this event is 10 June. Read more

ESA identifies new science ideas for future space missions 21 April 2017 Last year, ESA called on the scientific community to propose new and innovative science ideas that could be relevant for future space missions within the Science Programme. From the proposals that were received three key areas of interest have been selected for further investigation. Read more

ESA Planetary Science Archive gets a new look 16 January 2017 Today, ESA launches a new version of its Planetary Science Archive (PSA) website, the online interface to data from the agency's space science missions that have been exploring planets, moons and other small bodies in the Solar System. Read more