Europe Launches Satellite to Start Space Junk Clean-Up Mission

European engineers launched a satellite to the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday to track space junk and take it back to the earth, kicking off the Remove Debris project.

EU urged to continue investment to strengthen position in space

The European Union (EU) should continue to invest in space in order to strengthen its position in the area, according to participants at the tenth Conference on European Space Policy that concluded on Wednesday.

Crashing Chinese space station could rain fire on Europe

The European Space Agency (ESA) has already narrowed down the possible crash sites for the Chinese ‘Tiangong-1’ space station, including several European nations, which is due to meet its fiery end early in 2018.

Space debris problem getting worse, say scientists

Scientists sounded the alarm Tuesday over the problems posed to space missions from orbital junk – the accumulating debris from mankind's six-decade exploration of the cosmos.

China says its building new space capsule for low Earth orbit missions & Moon landings

China is developing a new spacecraft for missions in low Earth orbit and Moon landings, according to Chinese state media. Beijing is pursuing an independent space program, with the conquest Moon in the pipeline.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter finds Schiaparelli crash site

New images captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter appear to show where ESA's Schiaparelli lander crashed onto the Red Planet's surface.

Exploration project ExoMars arrives at Mars

European Space Agency (ESA) announced at its mission control center in German city of Darmstadt on Wednesday evening that its Mars exploration project ExoMars had arrived at the Red Planet after receiving signals from the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO).

However, the ESA could not get the signals from the Schiaparelli lander as it was supposed to land at 4:48 p.m. local time in Germany (1448 GMT), because radio contact was lost before landing.

• At this moment, it is unclear how Schiaparelli landed or whether it is harmed.

"The ground control team at ESA's space operations center are going to work all night to analyze the data on the ExoMars Schiaparelli lander. More at the press conference tomorrow," the ESA said on its Facebook account.

ExoMars, a joint endeavor between the ESA and Russia's Roscosmos space agencies, comprises the TGO and the Schiaparelli lander.

TGO is on a multi-year mission to understand the methane and other gases in Mars' atmosphere at low levels, and could be evidence for possible biological or geological activity, while Schiaparelli lander will test key technologies in preparation for ESA's ExoMars 2020 rover mission.
 [china.org.cn]
20/10/16

ExoMars landing module separates from orbiter while approaching Red Planet

The Russian-European interplanetary station ExoMars has separated into the Schiaparelli landing demonstrator module and the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) as it approached the Red Planet, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Sunday.

Rosetta Space Probe Studying 67P Comet Starts Final Manoeuvre

The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Rosetta space probe has completed its mission and the final collision manoeuvre has been initiated, the ESA announced.

Rosetta Probe's Final Move: Unlocking Cosmic Secrets

On September 30 the Rosetta spacecraft will close in on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after logging 6 billion kilometers across our solar system and will start its final dive towards the comet’s surface bringing its historic 12-year trek to an end.

Rosetta, Philae to reunite on comet at end of mission

Europe's trailblazing Rosetta spacecraft will end its mission on September 30, reuniting with robot lab Philae on the surface of a comet hurtling through the solar system, mission control said Thursday.

ExoMars sends first image of Red Planet — European Space Agency

The camera of the Russian-European inter-planetary space probe ExoMars has captured the first image of the Red Planet, where it is scheduled to arrive in October, the European Space Agency said.

Galileo global satellite positioning system : Russian carrier rocket blasts off from Kourou

 A Russian Souyz-ST carrier rocket with two new satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation system has successfully been launched from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, the European Space Agency (ESA) reported on Tuesday.

Second stage of ExoMars project postponed to 2020 — Roscosmos

The second stage of ExoMars, a joint project of Russia’s Roscosmos State Corporation and the European Space Agency (ESA), has been postponed from 2018 to 2020, the corporation has said.

Soyuz-ST rocket launch from spaceport in French Guiana delayed due to malfunction — ESA

The launch of a Russian carrier rocket, Soyuz-ST, from a space center in French Guiana has been delayed due to a technical malfunction, the European Space Agency (ESA) reported Sunday.

Mars mission seeks to answer question of life on red planet

A European and Russian spacecraft has set off for Mars this morning on a mission aimed at determining one of science's great unanswered questions - whether or not there is life on the red planet.

Hubble Telescope Spots Mysterious Space Objects

Scientists from the Paris Observatory have discovered mysterious undulating objects on space photos made with the Hubble space telescope and ESO’s Very Large Telescope, scientific magazine Nature wrote.

International space agencies to cooperate on climate change

Representatives of international space agencies have agreed to work together to combat the effects of climate change through science and technology, announced Mexico's Communications and Transport Ministry (SCT) on Sunday.

Soyuz TMA-16M: Descent capsule with crew of three cosmonauts begins re-entry. (... landed in a designated area in Kazakhstan)

The manned spacecraft Soyuz TMA-16M is entering the thick layers of the atmosphere, Mission Control told TASS. 

"The descent capsule has separated from the utility compartment and the equipment bay," Mission Control said.

Soyuz Arrives at Space Station with Astronauts from 3 Countries

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft arrived Friday at the International Space Station with a three-man international crew.