European Space Agency News

Cheops AO-3 Programmes
Posted on Tuesday June 07, 2022

The CHEOPS Time Allocation Committee (TAC) met on 11 - 13 May 2022 to review proposals submitted to the third and final annual Announcement of Opportunity (AO-3) for observing time in ESA's CHEOPS Guest Observers Programme during the nominal mission.

CHEOPS AO-3 Postponed
Posted on Friday November 05, 2021

The third annual announcement of opportunity (AO-3) for participation in the CHEOPS Guest Observers Programme was due to open on 9 November 2021. The AO has been postponed and is currently foreseen to come out in early 2022.

Unique exoplanet photobombs CHEOPS study of nearby star system
Posted on Monday June 28, 2021

While exploring two exoplanets in a bright nearby star system, ESA's exoplanet-hunting CHEOPS satellite has unexpectedly spotted the system's third known planet crossing the face of the star. This transit reveals exciting details about a rare planet "with no known equivalent", say the researchers.

ESA selects revolutionary Venus mission EnVision
Posted on Thursday June 10, 2021

EnVision will be ESA's next Venus orbiter, providing a holistic view of the planet from its inner core to upper atmosphere to determine how and why Venus and Earth evolved so differently.

#8: Successful integration of JUICE's 10.6-metre-long arm
Posted on Wednesday April 14, 2021

The development of ESA's JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) is continuing apace and has hit milestones in recent months: the spacecraft's 10.6-metre-long boom is now attached, many instruments have been integrated, and the mission's high-gain antenna has arrived and undergone rigorous vibration testing to ensure it can withstand launch into space.

Planet-hunting eye of PLATO
Posted on Friday March 05, 2021

Key technology for ESA's exoplanet-hunting PLATO spacecraft has passed a trial by vacuum to prove the mission will work as planned. This test replica of an 80-cm high, 12-cm aperture camera spent 17 days inside a thermal vacuum chamber.

CHEOPS AO-2 Programmes
Posted on Thursday February 25, 2021

The CHEOPS Time Allocation Committee (TAC) met on 2-3 February 2021 to review proposals submitted to the second annual Announcement of Opportunity (AO-2) for observing time in ESA's CHEOPS Guest Observers Programme.

ESA's exoplanet watcher CHEOPS reveals unique planetary system
Posted on Monday January 25, 2021

ESA's exoplanet mission CHEOPS has revealed a unique planetary system consisting of six exoplanets, five of which are locked in a rare rhythmic dance as they orbit their central star. The sizes and masses of the planets, however, don't follow such an orderly pattern. This finding challenges current theories of planet formation.

Euclid's optical and infrared instruments integrated in spacecraft
Posted on Monday December 21, 2020

The optical and infrared instruments of Euclid, ESA's mission to study dark energy and dark matter in space, have passed their qualification and acceptance reviews and are now fully integrated into the spacecraft's payload module. This marks an important step forward in the assembly of the Euclid space telescope, which is scheduled for launch in 2022.

Ariel moves from blueprint to reality
Posted on Thursday November 12, 2020

ESA's exoplanet mission Ariel, scheduled for launch in 2029, has moved from study to implementation phase, following which an industrial contractor will be selected to build the spacecraft.