Latest Science and technology in Europe Stories

As Europe’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security program nears its full operational phase, its benefits and economic potential for Eastern Europe came into focus last week at a conference in Bucharest, Romania. In the summer of 2010, heavy rainfall unleashed floods in northern and eastern Romania. Over 20 people lost their lives, while hundreds of homes were destroyed. Thousands of hectares of farmland, forest and pastures were damaged. SAFER, the emergency response service...

[ Video 1 ] | [ Video 2 ] A new image of Messier 55 from ESO's VISTA infrared survey telescope shows tens of thousands of stars crowded together like a swarm of bees. Besides being packed into a relatively small space, these stars are also among the oldest in the Universe. Astronomers study Messier 55 and other ancient objects like it, called globular clusters, to learn how galaxies evolve and stars age. Globular clusters are held together in a tight spherical shape by gravity. In...

The European Space Agency (ESA) is reportedly planning to launch a new branding campaign to raise awareness of space travel's impact on the global economy and product innovation. The forthcoming marketing venture, which was the subject of an article by Chris Wickham of Reuters, is intended to let taxpayers know that their investment in space programs, including the International Space Station (ISS), is being rewarded through such products as memory foam mattresses and in-ear thermometers....

If you have a great new idea for commercially using satellite navigation, it’s time to come forward. You may win funding and support to bring your idea to life, in this year’s European Satellite Navigation Competition. Now in its eighth year, the European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) is boosting ideas for innovative satnav application and services with business potential. With the prize pool worth about €1 million in cash awards, business incubation, coaching, patent...

[ Video 1 ] | [ Video 2 ] A new image of the region surrounding the reflection nebula Messier 78, just to the north of Orion’s Belt, shows clouds of cosmic dust threaded through the nebula like a string of pearls. The observations, made with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope[1], use the heat glow of interstellar dust grains to show astronomers where new stars are being formed. Dust may sound boring and uninteresting — the surface grime that hides the beauty of an...

[ Video 1 ] | [ Video 2 ] The star cluster NGC 6604 is shown in this new image taken by the Wide Field Imager attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is often overlooked in favor of its more prominent neighbor, the Eagle Nebula (also known as Messier 16), that lies a mere wingspan away. But the framing of this picture, which places the star cluster in a landscape of surrounding gas and dust clouds, shows what a beautiful object NGC 6604 is in...

Propelling the Ariane 5 rocket into space, the Vulcain engine truly reflects Europe’s impressive aerospace achievements. The giant engine will flag ‘ESA Space Apps’ at this year’s Hannover Messe trade fair showcasing impressive space technology spin-offs and their terrestrial potential. Organized by ESA’s Technology Transfer Program Office and German MST Aerospace, the ESA Space Apps stand will illustrate how striking product developments and innovative advances are possible in a...

Reliable Internet access on the Moon, near Mars or for astronauts on a space station? How about controlling a planetary rover from a spacecraft in deep space? These are just some of the pioneering technologies that ESA is working on for future exploration missions. What do observation or navigation satellites orbiting Earth have in common with astronauts sending images in real time from the International Space Station? They all need to send data back home. And the complexity of sharing...

ESA astronaut André Kuipers has installed ‘NightPod’ on the International Space Station, an aid for taking night-time pictures of Earth. The first batch of pictures offer stunning images of cities at night. Any amateur photographer knows the problems of taking pictures at night: the low shutter speeds required to capture enough light make images prone to camera shake. Blurry and unsharp pictures are the result. Professional photographers use tripods to steady their camera and take...

Are you following @Astro_Andre’s Twitter updates and images from space? If you could speak to him live on the International Space Station, what would you most like to ask? Now’s your chance! ESA is inviting 80 followers of @Astro_Andre to join us for a SpaceTweetup, with André participating live from the Space Station. The Tweetup will take place in English on 29 May at ESA’s ESTEC research and technology center in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang...