Esapod, Audio And Video From Space

Steins is Rosetta's first nominal scientific target. Based upon ground-based observations, it has been classified as an 'E-type' asteroid, composed mainly of silicates and basalts, but its properties are not known in detail. For these reasons, it has been selected as one of the two asteroids that Rosetta will study, from among those that were within reach of the mission. The study of asteroids is extremely important as they represent a sample of Solar System material at different stages of evolution – key to understanding the origin of our own planet and of our planetary neighbourhood. The spacecraft will rendezvous with the asteroid in the course of its first incursion into the asteroid belt, while on its way to comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko.ESApod audio programme

The conference began at 08:30 with breakfast, followed at 09:00 by a press briefing to review the Agency’s activities in 2007 and look ahead to those of 2008, a year set to be full of events and marked by several major launches (ATV, Giove-B, GOCE, Herschel and Planck, SMOS, Vega), as well as a major programmatic milestone for ESA: the Council meeting at Ministerial level in late November.ESApod audio programme

Rosetta, ESA's comet-chasing spacecraft, is due to swing-by Earth tomorrow, 13 November, making closest approach at 21:57 CET. The next three days promise to be intensely busy at ESOC, ESA's Space Operations Centre, in Darmstadt, Germany. On 12 November, ESApod spoke with Andrea Accomazzo, the Spacecraft Operations Manager, who provides an update on the team work going on at ESOC and the support being provided by ESA's New Norcia ESTRACK ground station and by NASA's deep-space network. At 19:00 CET (18:00 UTC) tonight, Rosetta will be 920 000 km from the Earth, approaching at 9.4 km/second relative to our planet.ESApod video programme

A 15 September meteorite strike in Peru highlights the need to expand scientists' understanding of asteroids, meteoroids and other NEO, or Near-Earth Objects. Scientists still don't know the precise composition of asteroids, for example, making any attempt to deflect one aimed at the Earth highly problematic. ESA's Rosetta 'comet-chasing' mission, now en route to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, will be the first to undertake the long-term exploration of a comet from close quarters and includes the deployment of a landing probe. Don Quijote is a precursor mission, designed to assess and validate the technology that one day could be used to deflect an asteroid threatening the Earth.ESApod aideo programme

Telemetry, tracking and command systems are complex networks of ground tracking stations supported by sophisticated signal processing that enable ground controllers to send up commands and receive large amounts of scientific data, often transmitted from millions of kilometres in deep space. These systems are crucial to space success and require unique, high-precision engineering, often adapted to the requirements of different missions. However all space agencies must rationalise costs and as result global cooperation in this highly technical field is growing deeper. ESApod reports from ESA's 4th International Workshop on Tracking, Telemetry and Command Systems for Space Applications.ESApod audio programme

As part of the Astrolab Mission post-flight tour, ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter is joined by his ISS Expedition 13 and 14 colleagues, Pavel Vinogradov (Russia), Jeffrey Williams (NASA), Michael Lopez-Alegria (NASA) and Mikail Tyurin (Russia), for a lively discussion on the future direction of human exploration in our Solar System. The session took place 22 June 2007 at ESA's Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, and included Bob Chesson, ESA's manager for Human Spaceflight and Exploration Operations. As part of the Aurora exploration strategy, ESA is planning to create, and then implement, a European long-term plan for the robotic and human exploration of the solar system, with Mars, the Moon and the asteroids as the most likely targets. Planned missions include the ExoMars robotic rover and Mars Sample Return.ESApod audio programme

As spacecraft and space missions expand in number and sophistication, building and operating the complex ground infrastructure required to operate in space is also becoming more demanding. ESA is successfully rationalising ground systems and infrastructure - the people, computers, networks and software that operate missions in space - while still achieving essential mission requirements.ESApod audio programme

On the afternoon of 14 January 2005, the European Space Agency probe Huygens made a stunning descent through Titan's 1300-km-thick atmosphere. Titan, a moon of Saturn, was then some 1.4 thousand million km from the Earth. Obviously no human viewed the descent first-hand, yet reconstructing and modelling the precise wind-blown trajectory that Huygens took to reach the surface is crucial to correlating and synthesizing all data transmitted from Huygens' six instrument packages. This week, scientists from the Descent Trajectory Working Group will present their latest results at the 42nd Cassini-Huygens Project Science Group Meeting in Athens, Greece. ESAPod interview with Dr Bobby Kazeminejad.ESApod audio programme

Since Huygens' January 2005 descent to Titan's surface, scientists have gained a new understanding of the Saturn moon's complex, 1300-km-thick atmosphere. Some of the most intriguing data returned by the HASI, or Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument, point to the possible existence of an electrical resonance effect, called Schumann resonance, on Titan. If confirmed, this would be the first such electrical field resonance seen outside our own planet. The effect may help scientists confirm whether an ocean of liquid water mixed with ammonia lies beneath Titan's surface. This week, scientists will present their latest results at the 42nd Cassini-Huygens Project Science Group Meeting in Athens, Greece. ESAPod interview with Dr Fernando Simoes.ESApod audio programme

On 14 January 2005, the European Space Agency probe Huygens made a spectacular touch-down on Saturn’s enigmatic moon titan, and an international team of scientists continues to analyse data radioed back during Huygens’s 2-1/-hour descent. This week, the 42nd Cassini-Huygens project science group meeting is being held in Athens, Greece. Scientists are expected to announce many new findings based on an in-depth analysis of Huygens data and on comparisons between Huygens data and results recently gathered by Cassini, which continues to explore the Saturn system and gather images of Titan. ESAPod speaks with Dr Jonathan Lunine, a Cassini interdisciplinary scientist at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, USA.ESApod audio programme

ESA's space safety interests are growing as the Agency's own near-Earth missions increase and as space tourism and commercial flights worldwide take off. At this year's IAASS conference, delegates will consider a White Book entitled: "An ICAO for Space?" proposing an international organisation for the coordination and regulation of civil space safety matters, on the model of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).ESApod audio programme

On April 17th, the European Union will host a high-level conference in Munich to define a roadmap for the future of GMES, Europe's global monitoring for environment and security initiative. The GMES programme is vital for Europe and is ensuring independent access to information relating to the environment, climate change and security. ESA's Volker Liebig says GMES activities are already yielding practical results and in the future even more benefits are expected for European citizens.ESApod audio programme

Yesterday, engineers at ESA's Space Operations Centre confirmed that Rosetta had successfully swung by Mars in the second of four critical gravity assists in its ten-year voyage to comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Closest approach occurred at 3:15 AM CET at an altitude of 250 km; departure velocity was estimated to be 36 191 km/hour relative to the Sun. In addition to confirming extensive and careful operations preparations, the successful passage allowed scientists to switch on several of the spacecraft's instruments as well as the camera onboard the Philae lander to image Mars. Results will help calibrate instruments after comparison to parallel observations made by ESA's Mars Express.ESApod audio programme

Since 2004, ESA has gathered over 150 imaginative ideas for new investigations proposed by scientists worldwide. The team preparing the Cosmic Vision plan has identified areas where major progress can be expected in the next two decades. Now, says Prof David Southwood, the Agency's Director of Science, ESA is ready to ask the greater science community for specific mission proposals.ESApod audio programme

Are we alone in the Universe? Are there other planets like our own orbiting distant stars? COROT, the upcoming exoplanet-hunting mission, promises to open our eyes on new, fascinating alien worlds.ESApod audio programme

In addition to those mentioned above, questions included, How high is the ISS? And one audience member was also curious as to what time it is on the ISS; since it orbits several times per day, the time 'zone' must always be changing? Listen to a lively and animated discussion with the ISS crew.ESApod audio programme

French scientist Jean-Loup Bertaux oversees the Ultraviolet and Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer on Venus Express. After the first month in nominal orbit, he's already found haze much higher in the thick Venusian atmosphere than expected, as well as fantastic evidence for heavy water, which could help determine how much water was on Venus at the start.ESApod audio programme

Giuseppe Piccioni is co-Principal Investigator for the VIRTIS science team. The instrument's initial results are helping scientists create a detailed, 3-dimensional map of the Venusian atmosphere. Knowledge of atmospheric composition will help determine if volcanoes are active on the surface.ESApod audio programme

ESA's Thomas Reiter is set to join the International Space Station for up to seven months. The 48-year-old German astronaut shares his thoughts on the view from space, living weightless, what astronauts do between missions and future human space travel. ESApod audio programme

ESA Project Scientist Hakan Svedhem on the first-ever clear views of a mysterious vortex taken during Venus Express' initial capture orbit. The orbit was a not-to-be-repeated opportunity to image the hothouse planet in a wide field of view as Venus Express looped below the southern pole.ESApod audio programme