ESA title

Press Releases — 2020

Published by the ESA Newsroom and Media Relations

email: media @ esa.int (Media inquiries only)

Index Dutch French German Italian Spanish
Press Release N° 33–2020
Enabling & Support

Loss of Vega flight VV17: Independent Enquiry Commission announces conclusions

On Tuesday, November 17, Arianespace announced the loss of the Vega VV17 mission, which was carrying two payloads, SEOSAT-Ingenio, an Earth-science observation satellite for the European Space Agency (ESA), on behalf of Spain's Center for Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), and TARANIS for France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES). The first three stages functioned nominally until the ignition of the AVUM upper stage, eight minutes after liftoff. At that time, a degraded trajectory was detected, followed by a loss of control of the vehicle and the subsequent loss of the mission.
17/12/2020 8980 views
Open
Press Release N° 32–2020
Agency

ESA Council appoints Josef Aschbacher as next ESA Director General

Today, the ESA Council appointed Dr Josef Aschbacher as the next Director General of ESA, for a period of four years. He will succeed Prof. Jan Wörner, whose term of office ends on 30 June 2021.
17/12/2020 3793 views
Open
Press Release N° 31–2020
Agency

Call for media: Results of the Independent Inquiry Commission related to Vega flight VV17 mission loss

On Tuesday 17 November, Arianespace announced the loss of the Vega VV17 mission, carrying two payloads: SEOSAT-Ingenio for ESA and TARANIS for the French space agency, CNES.
17/12/2020 608 views
Open
Press Release N° 30–2020
Agency

ESA highlights in 2021

A busy schedule lies ahead for ESA in 2021.
16/12/2020 7388 views
Open
Press Release N° 29–2020
Science & Exploration

ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer officially assigned first flight

ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer has been assigned to his first flight to the International Space Station during a meeting of representatives from the US, Russian, Japanese, Canadian and European space agencies at the beginning of December.
14/12/2020 1204 views
Open
Press Release N° 28–2020
Agency

Call for media: Debrief from 295th ESA Council

The ESA Council will meet on 16 and 17 December 2020 in its 295th session and will take some important decisions regarding the Executive’s senior management.
11/12/2020 493 views
Open
Press Release N° 27–2020
Space Safety

ESA purchases world-first debris removal mission from start-up

ESA has signed an €86 million contract with an industrial team led by Swiss start-up ClearSpace SA to purchase a unique service: the first removal of an item of space debris from orbit.
01/12/2020 1203 views
Open
Press Release N° 26–2020
Space Safety

Call for Media: ESA and ClearSpace SA sign contract for world’s first debris removal mission

ESA is signing an €86 million contract with an industrial team led by the Swiss start-up ClearSpace SA to purchase a unique service: the first removal of an item of space debris from orbit. As a result, in 2025, ClearSpace SA will launch the first active debris removal mission, ClearSpace-1, which will rendezvous, capture and bring down for reentry a Vespa payload adapter. Journalists are invited to follow an online round table for media on Tuesday, 1 December, at 13:30 CET. Mission experts will give an overview of the project status, explain the ambitious mission design and detail the next steps leading to launch.
26/11/2020 10124 views
Open
Press Release N° 25–2020
Applications

New Copernicus satellite to monitor sea-level rise launched

The Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite has been launched into orbit around Earth on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Using the latest radar altimetry technology, this new satellite is set to  provide a new overview of ocean topography and advance the long-term record of sea-surface height measurements that began in 1992 – measurements that are essential for climate science, for policy-making and, ultimately, for protecting the lives of millions at risk of sea-level rise.
21/11/2020 1353 views
Open
Press Release N° 24–2020
Agency

Call for media: 10th EU-ESA Space Council

Ministers of the Council of the European Union and of the ESA Council at Ministerial level will participate to a virtual meeting this Friday 20 November, for the 10th edition of the European 'Space Council'. The theme of this Space Council is: ‘Orientations on the European contribution in establishing key principles for the global space economy’.
18/11/2020 563 views
Open
Press Release N° 23–2020
Enabling & Support

Vega flight VV17 failure: Arianespace and ESA appoint an independent Inquiry Commission

On Tuesday 17 November, Arianespace announced the loss of the Vega VV17 mission, carrying two payloads: SEOSAT-Ingenio for ESA and TARANIS for the French space agency, CNES.
17/11/2020 43069 views
Open
Press Release N° 22–2020
Applications

Call for Media: Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ready to map Earth’s oceans

Media are invited to join a trilingual press briefing on Thursday 19 November at 10:00 CET where officials from ESA, the European Commission, Eumetsat, NASA and marine applications users will discuss the impending launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean-monitoring satellite.
16/11/2020 793 views
Open
Press Release N° 21–2020
Applications

Call for Media: SEOSAT-Ingenio ready to image Earth’s land in remarkable detail

The Spanish high-resolution land-imaging mission, SEOSAT-Ingenio, is scheduled to launch on a Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, on Tuesday 17 November 02:52 CET (22:52 local time in Kourou on 16 November). Media are invited to join an online press conference on Monday, 16 November, at 16:30 CET to discuss details of the latest Earth-observing satellite.
11/11/2020 683 views
Open
Press Release N° 20–2020
Science & Exploration

Philae’s second touchdown site discovered at ‘skull-top’ ridge

After years of detective work, the second touchdown site of Rosetta’s Philae lander has been located on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in a site that resembles the shape of a skull. Philae left its imprint in billions-of-years-old ice, revealing that the comet’s icy interior is softer than cappuccino froth.
28/10/2020 615 views
Open
Press Release N° 19–2020
Science & Exploration

Call for Media: A new decade of European exploration – to the Moon and Mars

This year’s International Astronautical Congress will be visiting virtually the sites where Europe’s exploration of our Solar System for the 2020s is beginning. Join the free live event on 14 October that will showcase the hardware and the people that are taking Europe to the Moon and Mars and back.
13/10/2020 1207 views
Open
Press Release N° 18–2020
Applications

Call for Media: Upcoming Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite to map Earth’s oceans

Media representatives are invited to join an online press conference on Friday, 16 October, at 16:00 CEST (10:00 EDT) to discuss the November launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-6 ‘Michael Freilich’ ocean-monitoring satellite. Follow the briefing live on ESA Web TV.
12/10/2020 1092 views
Open
Press Release N° 17–2020
Science & Exploration

A perfect dinner under the stars: which Saarland speciality will ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer get to savour in outer space?

The European Space Agency (ESA) is launching a contest to choose the most heavenly local cuisine via online voting and a TV special.
08/10/2020 446 views
Open
Press Release N° 16–2020
Enabling & Support

Vega return to flight proves new rideshare service

The first flight of Vega’s rideshare service using the Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) dispenser for light satellites, launched from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 02:51 BST / 03:51 CEST on 3 September (22:51 local time on 2 September).
03/09/2020 707 views
Open
Press Release N° 15–2020
Science & Exploration

ESA’s Thomas Pesquet to be first European to ride a Dragon to Space Station

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet has officially been assigned to the second operational flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, launching in spring 2021 from Cape Canaveral, USA, to the International Space Station.
28/07/2020 2267 views
Open
Press Release N° 14–2020
Science & Exploration

Solar Orbiter’s first images reveal ‘campfires’ on the Sun

The first images from Solar Orbiter, a new Sun-observing mission by ESA and NASA, have revealed omnipresent miniature solar flares, dubbed ‘campfires’, near the surface of our closest star.
16/07/2020 896 views
Open
Press Release N° 13–2020
Science & Exploration

Call for Media: ESA to reveal first images from Solar Orbiter

First images from ESA’s Solar Orbiter to be revealed:The first images from ESA’s new Sun-observing spacecraft Solar Orbiter will be released to the public on 16 July 2020. Media representatives are invited to watch an online press briefing, which will take place at 14:00 CEST (13:00 BST), and talk to the scientists behind the mission.
09/07/2020 21284 views
Open
Press Release N° 12–2020
Agency

Decisions from the 290th ESA Council meeting

The ESA Council met today in its 290th session and took some important decisions regarding the Executive’s senior management.
24/06/2020 12227 views
Open
Press Release N° 11–2020
Space Safety

ESA highlights protection for our planet ahead of international Asteroid Day

The United Nations’ International Asteroid Day on 30 June highlights ESA’s expanding efforts to secure our future by understanding and addressing risks posed by near-Earth objects that could impact our planet.
22/06/2020 954 views
Open
Press Release N° 10–2020
Applications

Call for Media: ESA, NASA and JAXA to unveil COVID-19 Earth Observation Dashboard

ESA, NASA and JAXA invite the general public and media representatives to participate in an online media conference on Thursday, 25 June, at 09:00 EDT (15:00 CEST) where they will present a new dashboard that uses Earth observation data to show the impacts of COVID-19. This new platform will combine data, technical knowledge and expertise of the three space agencies to strengthen our global understanding of the environmental and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
18/06/2020 5093 views
Open
Press Release N° 9–2020
Applications

Call for Media: Rapid action in response to coronavirus with Earth observation

ESA and the European Commission invite media representatives to follow an online event on 5 June at 11:00 CEST where they will present the ‘Rapid Action Coronavirus Earth observation’ dashboard, also known as RACE. The RACE platform provides access to key environmental, economic and social indicators to measure the impact of the coronavirus lockdown and monitor post-lockdown recovery.
29/05/2020 13468 views
Open
Press Release N° 8–2020
Science & Exploration

Hubble celebrates its 30th anniversary with a tapestry of blazing starbirth

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s iconic images and scientific breakthroughs have redefined our view of the Universe. To commemorate three decades of scientific discoveries, this image is one of the most photogenic examples of the many turbulent stellar nurseries the telescope has observed during its 30-year lifetime.
24/04/2020 808 views
Open
Press Release N° 7–2020
Science & Exploration

BepiColombo takes last snaps of Earth en route to Mercury

The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission completed its first flyby on 10 April, as the spacecraft came less than 12 700 km from Earth’s surface at 06:25 CEST, steering its trajectory towards the final destination, Mercury. Images gathered just before closest approach portray our planet shining through darkness, during one of humankind’s most challenging times in recent history.
10/04/2020 1035 views
Open
Press Release N° 6–2020
Science & Exploration

ExoMars to take off for the Red Planet in 2022

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Roscosmos Space Corporation have decided to postpone the launch of the second ExoMars mission to study the Red Planet to 2022.
12/03/2020 24514 views
Open
Press Release N° 5–2020
Science & Exploration

Call for Media: ESA and Roscosmos to discuss ExoMars plans

The heads of ESA and Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, will be meeting in Moscow on 12 March 2020 to discuss cooperation between the two organisations including the status of the ExoMars project and its progress towards launch readiness.
24/02/2020 2918 views
Open
Press Release N° 4–2020
Science & Exploration

Liftoff for Solar Orbiter, ESA’s mission to face the Sun up close

ESA’s Solar Orbiter mission lifted off on an Atlas V 411 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 05:03 CET on 10 February on its mission to study the Sun from new perspectives.Signals from the spacecraft were received at New Norcia ground station at 06:00 CET, following separation from the launcher upper stage in low Earth orbit.
10/02/2020 823 views
Open
Press Release N° 3–2020
Science & Exploration

Record-breaking astronaut returns from six months in orbit

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano returned to Earth today alongside NASA astronaut Christina Koch and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, marking the end of his second six-month International Space Station mission known as ‘Beyond’.
06/02/2020 372 views
Open
Press Release N° 2–2020
Science & Exploration

Call for media: ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano returns from commanding the Space Station

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano is returning to Earth after six months on the International Space Station. He will land with Alexander Skvortsov and Christina Koch in Kazakhstan on 6 February 2020 after 201 days in space. Luca will fly directly to ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne for an expected arrival around 21:00 GMT (22:00 CET).
22/01/2020 2278 views
Open
Press Release N° 1–2020
Science & Exploration

Call for Media: Solar Orbiter launch to face the Sun (new date 10 February)

ESA’s new Sun explorer will be launched from Cape Canaveral on Monday, 10 February 2020 (European Time). Media are invited to Europe’s mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, to follow the launch and moment of signal acquisition.**Note: this article was updated on 31 January. NASA, ESA, Airbus and United Launch Alliance are now targeting Sunday 9 February 23:03 EST (04:03 GMT / 05:03 CET Monday 10 February) for the launch of the Solar Orbiter mission on an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch has a two-hour window.**
21/01/2020 2481 views
Open

Also available

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024