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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 13h

"Day 232, orbit 3596 – Yoohoo! Crew-13 has arrived! It feels so good to welcome new crewmates aboard the Station 😄" says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot! #εpsilon

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 02/10/2026

And our Image of the Week is ESTEC, ESA's technical heart, photographed by Sophie Adenot from the Station, 400 km above Earth... Sophie is due to come home in just a few days & as she sends a wave to her ESA colleagues from orbit, we wish her a smooth journey back! 🔗 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

esa.int

ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart, seen from orbit

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 02/10/2026

Can you identify these @esa.int Moon missions from a bad one-line description? 🌚 😎 Laser pointer but make it science. 👨‍🚀 Keeps astronauts alive. Takes cool photos. 📦 A delivery service for places with no postcode. 📡 Making sure lunar spacecraft can’t ghost you. Stay tuned to find out what these are 😉

Earthshine on the Moon, taken by Sophie Adenot during her epsilon mission. Credit: ESA/NASA-S. Adenot. A crescent Moon against a black sky, with sunlight illuminating a thin arc of the lunar surface. Craters and rugged terrain are visible along the bright edge, while the rest of the Moon fades into darkness.

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ESA Technology @technology.esa.int · 01/10/2026

🤘 The fifth space metal lands on Earth, this time including miniature thrusters 🔥 Made by @esa.int’s metal 3D printer on the International Space Station, this sample was designed in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social. 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

Gloved hands holding a metal part 3D-printed on the International Space Station

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 01/10/2026

Over the next few weeks we’ll explore missions that: 🔬 fire lasers at the Moon 📡 build lunar communications networks 🚚 deliver cargo to the lunar surface 👨‍🚀 help return humans to deep space Watch this space! 🚀

Artemis II Earth setting behind the Moon. Credit: NASA. On the left we see the Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts, a white cylinder with small engines jutting out of it and a hint of a long solar array on the top left. Across the darkness of space, we see on the right of the image the Moon, with a small crescent setting Earth behind it.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 01/10/2026

Our closest neighbour is still full of mysteries 🌙 The Moon is a time capsule that can teach us about the history of our Solar System 🌌. At the same time we’re testing the technologies needed to live and work beyond Earth, step by step towards future journeys to Mars 🔴.

The full Moon captured by ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen during his Huginn mission on board the International Space Station. A small full Moon in the darkness of space on the right can be seen, with the haze of the Earth's blue atmosphere on the left.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 01/10/2026

Tonight’s Moon is a waning gibbous 🌖. Although its sight is familiar, the Moon is anything but ordinary 🌚 384 400 km away from Earth, with temperatures ranging from +123°C to -233°C and gravity just 1/6 of Earth’s, it’s a world unlike any other .

A waning gibbous Moon, about 3/4 full with 1/4 obscured in the darkness of space. Credit: stock photo leospek

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 01/10/2026

🌝 Welcome to Moon month! Join us throughout October to discover how @esa.int is exploring the Moon, from laser experiments and lunar rovers to Moon landers and astronaut missions 👨‍🚀.

Earthset from lunar orbit during Artemis II. Credit: NASA. A grey cratered Moon in the foreground with a shining crescent Earth setting behind it, and the blackness of space beyond.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 30/09/2026

We want your ideas for research at white Mars! ❄️🧪 Concordia station in Antarctica is one of Earth's closest analogues for space exploration 👨‍🚀. Research in this unique environment helps us prepare for future missions to the Moon and Mars 🌕🔴. Send your ideas by 2 Nov 🔗 ideas.esa.int/core/servlet...

Concordia station during the summer. Credit: ESA/IPEV/PNRA-S. Gaier. Two white cylindrical buildings with red details stand on the horizon, below a clear blue sky and above an icy white landscape.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 30/09/2026

🎙️ Want to go deeper? Check out our latest #ESAExplores episode with @esa.int astronaut Andreas Mogensen, where we chat about Europe’s future in low Earth orbit. Listen on your favourite podcast platform ▶️ esaexplores.podbean.com/e/what-s-nex...

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 30/09/2026

🛰️ The future of low Earth orbit is taking shape. New astronaut missions. New commercial destinations. New transportation capabilities. Discover how @esa.int is building on decades of International Space Station experience to prepare for what's next 🚀 🔗 esa.int/Science_Expl...

esa.int

Shaping Europe’s future in low Earth orbit

For more than 25 years, the Internation Space Station (ISS) has been humankind's home in space. It has enabled scientists to conduct research in weightlessness, helped astronauts learn how to live and...

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 30/09/2026

⏳ One year on Mars lasts 687 days, almost twice as long as an Earth year. 🧓 To find your martian age, divide your age by 1.88 and tell your friends how much younger you are… on Mars, at least! Find out more differences between martian and Earth years 👇 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

esa.int

Happy New Year on Mars

30 September 2026 marks the start of a new year on Mars. At exactly 10:16 CEST/08:16 UTC on Earth, the Red Planet begins a new orbit around our Sun.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 30/09/2026

📅 Mars year 1 started on 11 April 1955. But why? 🌪️ That date was chosen so that the 1956 global dust storm, the first well-documented one, falls at the very start of the count.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 30/09/2026

Happy New Mars Year! 🥳 At exactly 10:16 CEST/08:16 UTC on Earth, the Red Planet begins a new orbit around our Sun. Join us in celebrating martian year 39 🎉

Infographic with facts and figures about New Mars Year 39.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 29/09/2026

🛰️ A glimpse of Europe's future in low Earth orbit. Two new industrial studies are exploring a potential European-led orbital outpost, building on decades of expertise in human spaceflight 🧑‍🚀🚀 Learn more: www.esa.int/Science_Expl... @esa.int

esa.int

ESA investigates potential future European-led orbital outpost

As part of the preparation for the end of utilisation of the International Space Station (ISS), the European Space Agency (ESA) awarded a contract to two European industrial consortia to conduct preli...

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 28/09/2026

After splashdown, an @esa.int astronaut's mission is far from over 👩‍🚀👨‍🚀 Behind every astronaut return is a coordinated effort involving more than 100 people across ESA and its partners, supporting everything from medical care to scientific research and mission debriefings. 🔗 esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

esa.int

How ESA astronauts return from space

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 28/09/2026

Homecoming looks a little different when you're returning from space 🚀🏡 Back at @esa.int's European Astronaut Centre in Cologne 🇩🇪, readaptation, scientific investigations and mission debriefings help turn spaceflight experience into knowledge for future explorers. 🔗 esa.int/Science_Expl...

esa.int

How ESA astronauts return from space

When an astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA) returns from space, the mission is far from over.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 28/09/2026

👣 One geology step closer to the Moon. #PANGAEA, @esa.int's astronaut field course, celebrates 10 years of making extraordinary places on Earth into classrooms for space exploration. www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

esa.int

One geology step closer to the Moon

As we prepare to return to the Moon, Europe’s leading geology training for astronauts PANGAEA celebrates its 10th anniversary turning extraordinary places on Earth into classrooms for space exploratio...

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 27/09/2026

"Day 226 orbit 3501 — Sunday morning science with Sophie, episode 16, part 2: How radiation affects systems and astronauts…" with @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot! 🎥 ESA/NASA #εpsilon

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 26/09/2026

Do you know what a mafic rock is? 🪨

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 25/09/2026

"Day 224 orbit 3472 — ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart, is located in Noordwijk, in the Netherlands, and sits just behind the sand dunes, with the North Sea beyond", says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 👋 @technology.esa.int 📸 ESA/NASA – S. Adenot Zoom in: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

esa.int

Noordwijk, The Netherlands

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 25/09/2026

Space exploration starts on Earth. Follow #PANGAEA’s geological journey through our image gallery: www.flickr.com/photos/europ...

flickr.com

PANGAEA 2026

A geological, astrobiological and operational field-training course for space exploration.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 25/09/2026

🔴 This image gives us strong Mars vibes. Here's a crew of astronauts climbing to the top of a volcano in Lanzarote, Spain. They're hunting for geological evidence of water and volcanic activity, two key clues in the search for life beyond Earth. www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

esa.int

Space explorers in the land of volcanoes

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 24/09/2026

"Day 223, orbit 3456 — We’ve all heard the saying, “Don’t play with your food”... To be honest, in microgravity, it’s hard to resist!" says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA #εpsilon

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 22/09/2026

"Day 221 orbit 3426 — What happens to our muscles when they no longer have to fight gravity? That’s one of the questions behind Myotones, an experiment looking at how our muscles adapt to life in space", says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... #εpsilon

esa.int

Myotones: Studying muscle adaptation to weightlessness

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 22/09/2026

Want to hear how flight controllers work? 🎧 ‍🧑‍🚀 On #ESAExplores, we visit the Columbus Control Centre and meet the teams supporting Europe's International Space Station operations 24/7. ▶️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb6I...

youtube.com

Mission Control | Keeping Columbus Running 24/7 | ESA Explores #19

YouTube video by ESA Extras

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 22/09/2026

🚀 Today, European teams conduct the 500th simulation for @esa.int International Space Station operations. More than 260 flight controllers have been certified to date. This simulation helps prepare future flight controllers to support astronauts and science aboard the Space Station.

Participants during the 500th European simulation supporting International Space Station operations at ESA's European Astronaut Centre. Credits: ESA

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 22/09/2026

👨‍🚀 Pablo Álvarez and the #PANGAEA effect. 👀 An engineer by training, the @esa.int astronaut is starting to see the world through geological eyes. blogs.esa.int/caves/2026/0...

ESA astronaut Pablo Álvarez examines a rock sample in the Ries Crater area in search of clues about the meteorite impact that hit Germany around 15 million years ago.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 21/09/2026

Pika-pika…Cupola? ⚡🌍 Pikachu is enjoying one of the most spectacular views in space: our planet Earth. The plush is floating in the European-built Cupola, a favourite spot for astronauts aboard the International Space Station👩‍🚀.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 20/09/2026

Day 219 orbit 3391 — Sunday morning science with Sophie, episode 16, part 1: Radiation, the “aurora factory”. 🎥 @esa.int / NASA

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 19/09/2026

"Day 218 orbit 3379 — Successful EVAs often depend on finding the right working position. I'll never forget this moment from EVA-98: switching sides gave me the leverage I needed to free the failed SGANT antenna from its stowage position" says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA #εpsilon

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 19/09/2026

Week 2 of #PANGAEA geology training: 🪨 Moon rocks from Apollo missions 🗺️ Mapping the lunar surface ☄️ Finding traces of a cataclysmic asteroid impact around 15 million years ago 📸 Follow the journey in our gallery: www.flickr.com/photos/europ...

JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui (right) and ESA astronaut Pablo Álvarez (leaft) are looking at a piece of the Moon collected during the Apollo missions on display at the RiesKrater Museum in Germany.

JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui during a lunar crater mapping exercise under the supervision of Katherine Joy, instructor of the ESA PANGAEA training campaign in 2026.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli uses a magnifying lens to examine the components of a rock sample from the Ries crater area in Germany.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 18/09/2026

"Day 217, orbit 3363 — For the European Heritage Days, Paris opens its doors... and so does @fr.esa.int! The French capital is celebrating its history, culture and iconic landmarks. Have fun spotting them in this photo!" says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🔗 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

esa.int

Paris, France

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 18/09/2026

Geology Moon joy, with astronauts on Earth 🌚 ESA's new #PANGAEA instructor Katherine Joy dreams of new lunar samples. She's the only European scientist on the geology team for Artemis IV, the next crewed mission to land on the Moon. blogs.esa.int/caves/2026/0... @manchester.ac.uk

ESA PANGAEA instructor Katherine Joy with astronaut Pablo Álvarez during rock recognition exercises in the Ries impact crater, Germany.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 17/09/2026

"Day 216, orbit 3348 — Food has always been a way to connect people. We often trade specialties – before long, everyone knows each other's favorites 😋 & saving a treat for a crewmate is one of the many small gestures that help build a strong crew", says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 16/09/2026

"Day 215, orbit 3333 — 200 days in space is definitely something we celebrate, with cake, of course!", shares @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 📸 ESA/NASA #εpsilon

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 15/09/2026

🌍➡️🚀 What comes after the International Space Station? In the latest episode of #ESAExplores, @esa.int astronaut Andreas Mogensen shares his perspective on Europe's future in orbit, from commercial space stations to the next chapter of human spaceflight. 🎧 Listen now: pod.link/1463873320

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 14/09/2026

"Day 213, orbit 3302 — The South American desert never disappoints. These volcanoes & mountain peaks look magnificent from above... On a recent pass, travelling at 28,000 km/h, I snapped 1,400 pictures in only 6 min 😉" says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 📸 ESA/NASA – S. Adenot

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 14/09/2026

🪨 Why do astronauts need to learn geology? 👨‍🚀 Pablo, Jasmin and Kimiya reply right from the Bletterbach canyon in Italy, in week one of @esa.int's PANGAEA training.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 13/09/2026

"Day 212 orbit 3282 — Sunday morning science, episode 15: Mass, inertia and energy! The more mass an object has, the more energy it takes to change its motion..." says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 12/09/2026

A closer look at our Orion plush 👀🧶 ✅ Crew module (grey cone) ✅ European Service Module (white cylinder) ✅ Four solar arrays (blue) ✅ Main engine (grey) ❓ What’s missing? 🚀 32 more engines! The real European Service Module also boasts 8 auxiliary thrusters and 24 reaction control system engines.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 12/09/2026

From crochet hook to launch pad 🧶🚀 For #InternationalCrochetDay, here’s a throwback to our Orion plush visiting NASA’s Kennedy Space Center ahead of Artemis II. The real spacecraft flew four astronauts around the Moon, powered by @esa.int’s European Service Module. 📸: ESA-M. Deschamps

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 12/09/2026

🌚🔴 Moon or Mars... Can you guess who's holding a Moon rock? 👨‍🚀 Astronauts get hands-on with meteorites from other worlds during @esa.int's PANGAEA geology training. Left to right: Kimiya Yui (JAXA), Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA), Pablo Álvarez (ESA).

Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA), Kimiya Yui (JAXA) and Pablo Álvarez (ESA) are thrilled to examine meteorite samples from the Moon and Mars in their hands during the PANGAEA geology training.

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Reposted by ESA Exploration

Josef Aschbacher @josefaschbacher.esa.int · 11/09/2026

The International Space Summit marked an important step in shaping a common European vision for space exploration. #ParisSpaceSummit

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 11/09/2026

🚢 Soon to be frozen in space and time, this alien-looking vessel is beginning its first mission. 🧊 For 8 months, a crew of 12 won't leave the drifting ice in the Arctic to study how how life adapts to isolation & extremes in a region very sensitive to climate change. www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

esa.int

Arctic isolation for science

Tara Polar Station

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 10/09/2026

🚀 Europe is taking a major step towards autonomous cargo transportation in low Earth orbit. @esa.int has signed a contract with The Exploration Company under ALADDIN for an initial Nyx demonstration mission to the International Space Station and future cargo services. 🔗 www.esa.int/Newsroom/Pre...

A photo of the International Space Station captured by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet in 2021. Credits: NASA/ESA–T. Pesquet

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 10/09/2026

📚 Classroom theory is paired with trips to the field. ⛰️ During their first week, astronauts are exploring the Bletterbach canyon in Italy. 📝 Part of the training involves sketching an outcrop to trace a riverbed millions of years ago.

Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA), Pablo Álvarez (ESA) and Kimiya Yui (JAXA) drawing an outcrop in the Bletterbach canyon in Italy as part of the PANGAEA geology training.

From left to right, ESA PANGAEA 2026 trainees Pablo Álvarez (ESA), Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA) and Kimiya Yui (JAXA) sketching a rock outcrop in the Bletterbach canyon, Italy.

PANGAEA trainees explore a wide section of the Bletterbach canyon in Italy to describe and draw a geological outcrop.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 10/09/2026

Smell, touch, observe 🖐️👃👀 Astronauts experience geology using their senses during @esa.int's PANGAEA training.

ESA astronaut Pablo Álvarez smells a rock sample to look for traces of carbonaceous fragments.

After holding a sample of kaolinite, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli smiles as she shows the effect that this clay-like rock has had on her hands.

JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui observes a rock sample to assign it to the right stratigraphic column in the Bletterbach canyon area with the help of a PANGAEA instructor.

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ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 10/09/2026

❄️ Adrianos spent a year at Concordia station in Antarctica as @esa's medical doctor, researching how humans adapt to living in one of the most remote bases on Earth to help us prepare for missions beyond 🌌 blogs.esa.int/concordia/ca...

Adrianos Golemis at the top of the American Tower, 45 metres above Concordia station in Antarctica. Adrianos is on the left with a visor and very warm clothes and the two white towers of Concordia station can be seen in the distance, amid an empty ice landscape.

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