Exploration Science https://explorationscience.esa.int/ Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:47:04 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.1 https://explorationscience.esa.int/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ESA-favicon.png Exploration Science https://explorationscience.esa.int/ 32 32 European Lunar Symposium 2026 explores science priorities for Europe’s future lunar ambitions https://explorationscience.esa.int/els-2026/ Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:36:28 +0000 https://explorationscience.esa.int/?p=2590 Held in the historic city of Nancy, France, from 22 to 26 June 2026, the European Lunar Symposium (ELS) 2026 brought together around 200 researchers, engineers, space professionals and students from across Europe and beyond to discuss the scientific and technological challenges of lunar exploration. The symposium featured plenary sessions, poster presentations, industry discussions and […]

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]]> European rocket and balloon research advances highlighted at ESA symposium https://explorationscience.esa.int/27-pacs-symposium/ Wed, 17 Jun 2026 07:42:14 +0000 https://explorationscience.esa.int/?p=2570 The 27th ESA Symposium on European Rocket and Balloon Programmes and Related Research took place from 31 May to 4 June 2026 in Trondheim, Norway. The symposium brought together researchers, engineers and students to present results and developments in the use of rockets and balloons for atmospheric and ionospheric studies as well as microgravity research, […]

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]]> SOLIS100 isolation study begins in Germany https://explorationscience.esa.int/solis100-isolation-study-begins-in-germany/ Tue, 28 Apr 2026 07:15:39 +0000 https://explorationscience.esa.int/?p=2521 The post SOLIS100 isolation study begins in Germany appeared first on Exploration Science.

]]> Success Stories Archive https://explorationscience.esa.int/exploration-science-success-stories-archive/ Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:04:52 +0000 https://explorationscience.esa.int/?p=2139 Exploration Science continues to deliver remarkable achievements that inspire and advance our understanding of the Universe. This article brings together a collection of success stories from ESA missions and research initiatives that highlight breakthroughs in planetary exploration, innovative technologies, and collaborative scientific efforts. From pioneering experiments aboard the International Space Station to new insights into […]

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]]> Forthcoming Announcement of Opportunity for LightShip-1X https://explorationscience.esa.int/forthcoming-announcement-of-opportunity-for-lightship-1x/ Tue, 06 May 2025 12:24:29 +0000 https://scispace.esa.int/?p=1807 The European Space Agency (ESA) Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration (HRE) intends to release an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for science Payloads of Opportunity on board of the LightShip-1 spacecraft. It is currently planned to release the AO at the end of April 2025. Background The purpose of this pre-announcement is to inform the […]

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]]> Announcement of Opportunity for LightShip and SpotLight Science Payloads of Opportunity Released https://explorationscience.esa.int/forthcoming-announcement-of-opportunity-for-lightship-1/ Fri, 07 Mar 2025 14:32:52 +0000 https://scispace.esa.int/?p=1701 ESA’s Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration (HRE) solicits proposals for thepreliminary selection of Payloads of Opportunity for the LightShip and SpotLight spacecraft. Links to AOs Deadline for submission of the full proposal: 30 June 2025 at 13:00 CEST  Deadline for mandatory Letters of Intent: 13 May 2025 at 13:00 CEST There is a briefing / […]

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]]> Happy birthday to you, Electromagnetic Levitator! https://explorationscience.esa.int/happy-birthday-to-you-electromagnetic-levitator/ Mon, 08 Jul 2024 21:58:49 +0000 https://scispace.esa.int/?p=1380 This summer marks the ten-year anniversary of the electromagnetic levitation facility on the International Space Station.  Helping to reveal the core physics at play in materials science, the Electromagnetic Levitator (EML) is a furnace in ESA’s Columbus laboratory that can melt metals by induction heating them up to 2200 °C. See the article

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]]> ESA Networking session at FENS2024 https://explorationscience.esa.int/esa-networking-fens2024/ Thu, 04 Jul 2024 10:45:04 +0000 https://scispace.esa.int/?p=1366 We had an incredible time at FENS2024! We explored fascinating insights into cerebrospinal fluid movement, navigation mechanisms, and other topics that could impact human space exploration. Our session on neuroscience’s role in human exploration drew huge interest from the science community. We’re excited to see more contributions from passionate researchers in this important field the […]

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]]> ESA CORA Ground Based Facilities Symposium 2023 https://explorationscience.esa.int/esa-cora-ground-based-facilities-symposium-2023/ Fri, 22 Mar 2024 12:21:00 +0000 https://explorationscience.esa.int/?p=2152 The first ESA CORA-Ground Based Facilities Symposium was held 05 December 2023 at ESA – ESTEC, The Netherlands, and online to allow selected science teams to showcase their completed CORA-GBF experiments and for participating facilities to demonstrate the service they provide. Furthermore, all participants were invited to discuss how each project aligned with the ESA […]

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]]> ESA’s OoDrop experiment on Drop Tower https://explorationscience.esa.int/oodrop-experiment-drop-tower/ Mon, 26 Feb 2024 21:11:41 +0000 https://scispace.esa.int/?p=1152 Why do astronauts suffer from significant muscle wasting and bone loss while in zero gravity? Dr. Simon Wüest from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Dr. Soeren Lienkamp from the University of Zurich investigated if specialized proteins in the cell membrane could react to gravity. For this they chose the brand new […]

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]]> BRACE Bedrest – Ready for round 2! https://explorationscience.esa.int/brace-bedrest-ready-for-round-2/ Tue, 06 Feb 2024 19:28:02 +0000 https://scispace.esa.int/?p=1130 ESA, with support of CNES, is continuing the second part of a new 60-day bedrest study at the MEDES Space Clinic in Toulouse. The BRACE study (BedRest with Artificial gravity and Cycling Exercise) will investigate the efficacy of the combination of cycling exercise and artificial gravity (on a human centrifuge). If effective, it could be […]

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]]> Droplets unite! https://explorationscience.esa.int/droplets-unite/ Mon, 11 Sep 2023 12:25:56 +0000 https://scispace.esa.int/?p=1031 How drops form is not entirely understood on Earth – much less in space. To study the phenomenon on the International Space Station, an ESA experimental setup faced rigorous tests on the ground. Read the dull story here

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