ESA Space Safety

☄ This unique encounter between Earth and an asteroid calls for an emissary: Ramses In April 2029, the asteroid #Apophis will pass within 32 000 km from Earth’s surface. Visible to the naked eye, the flyby of this 375-meter giant is an incredibly rare opportunity to study an asteroid as its physical characteristics are altered by Earth’s gravity. The European Space Agency - ESA’s Space Safety programme has received permission to begin preparatory work for its Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (#RamsesESA). The flyby is not only uniquely close, under the effect of Earth's gravity, Apophis will be stretched and squeezed by strong tidal forces that may trigger landslides and other disturbances and reveal new material from beneath the surface. To get a before-after view, Ramses needs to be launched in April 2028 to allow for an arrival at Apophis in February 2029, two months before the close approach. The mission will conduct surveys of the asteroid’s shape, surface, orbit, rotation and orientation. Moreover, scientists will learn a lot about an asteroid inner composition and structure, which is critical to improve our ability to defend our planet from an asteroid on a collision course. “This type of mission is a cornerstone of humankind’s response to a hazardous asteroid", explains Richard Moissl, heading ESA's #PlanetaryDefence Office. "A reconnaissance mission would be launched first to analyse the incoming asteroid’s orbit and structure. The results would be used to determine how best to redirect the asteroid or to rule out non-impacts before an expensive deflector mission is developed.” Learn more about this novel mission 👉 https://lnkd.in/eFtrs2G6

🛰Time for a #HeraMission update! Hera launches in just a few months in October, so let’s go over the news from ESA's eagerly awaited #PlanetaryDefence mission: 💡Hera's mission If an asteroid comes our way, can we deflect it and how? In 2022, NASA’s DART mission proved the concept of #AsteroidDeflection using kinetic impact. Now, European Space Agency - ESA's Hera mission will head towards that same asteroid to gather vital data and make asteroid deflection a repeatable planetary defence technique. https://lnkd.in/eu6qK8YY ⚙️ Testing time(s) Hera and all its systems are currently undergoing rigorous testing at ESTEC (📸 in the Maxwell chamber), recently establishing communications with both CubeSats and Mission Control at ESOC. So far, so good! https://lnkd.in/eS5xgWHB 📡 Simulations are GO The Mission Control Team has kicked off their launch campaign with a visit to Hera at ESTEC (📸 team photo) now that the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) in October is quickly coming closer. They have since started their simulations campaign to be prepared for anything and everything. https://lnkd.in/em-ND77a ☄️ Target asteroid reshaped? The DART impact might have reshaped Hera's target asteroid. Hera will look for a crater left on the impacted asteroid Dimorphos, yet it might not actually find one. Simulations by University of Bern suggest there is no crater – instead Hera will find an entirely reshaped asteroid body. https://lnkd.in/ebCTZEKG 📺 Must-watch videos We absolutely adore the ‘The Incredible Adventures of the Hera mission’ series. It explains the context and details of Hera in a very accessible way and in multiple languages. We just love it. Have you (and your kids) watched all six episodes yet? Binge them all 👉 https://lnkd.in/e6RYNnrn Ian Carnelli, Richard Moissl, Ignacio Tanco, Sylvain Lodiot, Michael Kueppers, ESA Operations, Engineering & Space Safety, ESA Technology

⚡️ #ZeroDebris Week recap: energised Zero Debris community sets to work! It was an incredible experience to feel the Zero Debris community buzzing with energy in the hallways of ESOC last week. The representatives of over 60 entities from 17 different countries – from launcher companies, integrators, suppliers and operators to universities, NGOs and space agencies – came together to do technical work towards our shared dream of the Zero Debris by 2030 objectives.   The many technical experts crowd-sourced the technical needs, potential solutions and key enablers to achieve our zero-debris targets and stop the generation of further debris in space. The collaborative effort translated joint aspirations into something tangible, a draft version of the Zero Debris #TechnicalBooklet. This Booklet will form a technical blueprint on how to actually build our way towards a Zero Debris future, creating the technical capabilities to collectively address the problem. The Technical Booklet workshops were not all. #AllTheThings There were workshops on Close Proximity Operations, on the THEMIS software that lets you assess the impact of a mission on the space environment, on how to achieve a circular economy in space, we celebrated the signing of contracts with industrial partners to kick off development of zero-debris LEO satellite platforms, and more. A big, big thank you to the presenters, chairs, co-chairs and organisers, and everyone else who joined us for the Zero Debris Week and made it a success! We hope you found it as inspiring as we did.   #UpNext Hungry for more? Come join us for the next steps of our collaborative effort to secure a sustainable future in space! ➡️ Join us 8-11 October for the 2024 Clean Space Days, at ESTEC in the Netherlands: https://lnkd.in/g9KU2pvG ➡️ And join 1-4 April 2025 for the 9th European Conference on Space Debris in Bonn, Germany: https://lnkd.in/dYTZFYn 📸 Zero Debris Week participants at ESOC, credit: ESA/J.Mai. ESA Operations, Engineering & Space Safety, Rolf Densing, Holger Krag, Tim Flohrer, Tiago Soares Let's keep the conversation going! What was your standout moment of the event?

We have another severe geomagnetic storm in progress right now. This is resulting from a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) resulting from a relatively big eruption in the Sun three days ago. We received just a glancing blow from this CME that mostly missed the Earth. Ripples of the geomagnetic disturbance are detectable all the way to Spain, but no impact on the ground infrastructure in Europe is expected. There will be a nice Aurora at high latitudes tonight, but unfortunately it will not be visible due to the midnight sun 😎 For more information, visit https://swe.ssa.esa.int/

☄ ESA's Hera enters simulation phase to refine asteroid deflection strategies! Set to study the first ever test of asteroid deflection, the #HeraESA mission kicked off the most intense phase of their launch preparations – the simulations campaign. This 3-month practice phase involves the Hera operations team, located at #ESA's European Space Operations Center (#ESOC). During this time, the team will be confronted with pre- and post-launch scenarios of increased difficulty level that will unite the team and train it to work together seamlessly. Hera is planned to be launched in October. This European Space Agency - ESA mission will perform a detailed survey of an asteroid after it was impacted by NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s #DARTMission. The results will help turn the grand-scale experiment into a well-understood and repeatable #PlanetaryDefence technique. Hera plays a critical role in the world’s first test of asteroid deflection and is the first spacecraft mission developed under ESA’s #SpaceSafety programme, located at ESOC. Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/em-ND77a 

❗Rare close asteroid approach tomorrow, just in time for #AsteroidDay The asteroid 2024 MK is between 120 and 260 m in size and will fly safely past Earth on Saturday 29 June during the height of this year’s Asteroid Day activities. The asteroid was discovered about two weeks ago on 16 June 2024. An asteroid this size could do significant damage if it were to impact Earth. While are safe from this asteroid, the late discovery shows why we need to keep improving our near-Earth object (NEO) observation capabilities. More on the close approach 👉 https://lnkd.in/gnqsNgUQ #KeepingTrack At ESA, the Near-Earth Objects Coordination Centre (https://neo.ssa.esa.int/) maintains a list of all known upcoming close approaches of NEO objects and classifies how rare they are. 2024 MK is the only one currently in the ‘rare’ category. Check out the full list 👉 https://lnkd.in/eydbmTkF

What exactly happens to a satellite during atmospheric reentry? Join us in solving the puzzle!🧩 Recently, ESA’s #OPSSAT CubeSat reentered while it was still active and able to communicate. With the help of the amateur radio community, we gathered very interesting data on temperature, spin, voltage and more until few minutes before its final destructive reentry in the atmosphere. Access the data yourself here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eZS_5phV A satellite can only communicate until the disintegration starts, then it has to be observed to gather information (although….we are also preparing the DRACO debris reentry experiment https://lnkd.in/eGjy5N7K that will attempt to observe throughout a reentry). #ClusterReentry x4 A great opportunity for reentry observation presents itself with ESA’s Cluster mission. The first of the four Cluster satellites, Salsa, will reenter the atmosphere in September. Our #SpaceDebris team are ready for it. “This is the first time that anyone has targeted the reentry of a satellite with an eccentric orbit like Salsa in this way,” says Stijn Lemmens from ESA’s Space Debris Office. “And the end of the Cluster mission gives us the unique chance to reenter four identical spacecraft at different times." “The experience we gain from safely reentering the same satellite at four different angles and speeds, and under four different sets of atmospheric conditions, will greatly improve our understanding of reentries and help us define the standard for the safe disposal of satellites in similar orbits.” More on the Cluster reentry 👉 https://lnkd.in/eza6m-rN 📸 The first semi-controlled reentry of Aeolus in February 2024, credit: Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques (Fraunhofer FHR). Final contact with OPS-SAT, credit: ESA. David Evans Tim Flohrer Francesca Letizia Guilhem Honoré

It’s officially time to build zero-debris satellites with Airbus Defence and Space, OHB SE and Thales Alenia Space! It’s an exciting day as we start implementing our ambitious goals. ESA is committed to deliver on the promise of #ZeroDebris by 2030. To ensure compliant satellites can be designed and built in time, ESA is supporting industry during this technologically challenging transition. 🛰 🛰 🛰 Yesterday evening, contracts with ESA were signed by Francesca Cirillo on behalf of Airbus Defence and Space, Christiane Bergemann for OHB and Pierre Dandré for Thales Alenia Space. Each signed a contract with ESA to develop large Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite platforms to reach Zero Debris by 2030. The three major European space industry players will design and develop the platforms as a first step towards building zero-debris production lines.   "We are excited that the time has come to kick off these activities with the three prime contractors, OHB, Airbus and Thales,” says Rolf Densing, ESA Director of Operations. “A milestone that signals the tangible progress of our Zero Debris efforts." Learn more 👉 https://lnkd.in/etVnU6-z Together with our long-time industrial partners, we are excited to start this first major activity to preserve the endangered low Earth orbits and make our Zero Debris goals a reality. Let’s get started!! 🙌   📸 Signing the zero-debris LEO platform contracts, ESA. Holger Krag, Tiago Soares

It’s #ZeroDebris Week at ESOC! The ESA Clean Space and #SpaceDebris teams, both part of ESA's #SpaceSafety programme, are committed to working towards building a sustainable future in space, including reaching Zero Debris by 2030. A comprehensive Zero Debris approach must address the many practical aspects of the space debris problem. From space traffic control and tracking debris to the prevention of new debris and the cleaning up of valuable orbits. #TeamEffort It will take a collaborative effort by the Zero Debris community, which is coming together once again this week to jointly take the next steps towards a Zero Debris future. Over 60 entities are joining us at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, with their representatives covering a wide variety of roles and expertise. More on the event 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMgrEbBS Is your organisation taking part? What are you most excited for?! 📸 Distribution of space debris around Earth, ESA. Rolf Densing, Holger Krag, Tim Flohrer, Tiago Soares, Francesca Letizia 

Hello, world! We'll be sharing all the fascinating news - and our passion - for all things #SpaceSafety at European Space Agency - ESA. Discover all our activities here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dkZcPrea