Space News

Brake! Time for ESA’s Hera asteroid mission to go slow

Launched two years ago today, the European Space Agency’s Hera mission for planetary defence has been hurtling away from Earth ever since. The small-car-sized spacecraft is now preparing for its single most challenging activity since lift-off: the sustained braking manoeuvres to slow it down to approach its target asteroids.

The Incredible Adventures of the Hera mission – The space detectives arrive

Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective. Together with two CubeSats – Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary – Hera is off on an adventure to explore Didymos, a double asteroid system that is typical of the thousands that pose an impact risk to planet Earth.

ArianeGroup Completes Second Themis Wet Dress Rehearsal

The European Space Agency announced that ArianeGroup and Swedish Space Corporation completed a second wet dress rehearsal of the Themis reusable rocket demonstrator at Esrange in Sweden. ESA announced the completion of the latest rehearsal on 7 October, saying that the test had taken place on 29 September. As with the first wet dress rehearsal, […]

Finding Hera’s way: ESA’s Flight Dynamics team into action

The European Space Agency’s Hera planetary defence mission team is preparing to light a fire in the sky. On the early morning of 15 October the small-car-sized spacecraft will burn its Orbit Control Thrusters in the direction of its target asteroid system for a total of 93 minutes continuously. This braking manoeuvre will bring it near to matching the orbital velocity of the Didymos binary asteroids.

Finding Hera’s way: Flight Dynamics team in action

The European Space Agency’s Hera planetary defence mission team is preparing to light a fire in the sky. On the early morning of 15 October the small-car-sized spacecraft will burn its Orbit Control Thrusters in the direction of its target asteroid system for a total of 93 minutes continuously. This braking manoeuvre will bring it near to matching the orbital velocity of the Didymos binary asteroids.

When the Sun turns black

From the ESA Blogs.

Themis completes second fuelling rehearsal

ESA’s Themis reusable rocket stage demonstrator successfully completed its second ‘wet dress rehearsal’ at Esrange Space Center in Sweden on 29 September, testing the vehicle and ground procedures under representative cryogenic conditions.

APOD: 2026 October 7 – Supernova Remnant Pa 30

Arctic Sea Ice Shrinks to Its 2026 Minimum

Satellite records show Arctic sea ice covering less of the ocean in both winter and summer.

Crew-12 set to depart the ISS after eighth months in orbit

After eight months aboard the International Space Station, NASA and SpaceX’s Crew-12 mission is scheduled…

It looks like the Atlantic storm season may finally produce a hurricane

To date, this Atlantic tropics year has been exceptionally quiet.

Deposition Sciences, Inc. Expands Sunshade® Tape Offering with New 12″ × 30″ Format

Santa Rosa, CA — October 2026 — Deposition Sciences, Inc. (DSI), a leader in advanced thin film coatings, proudly announces the introduction of a new 12″ × 30″ format for […]