ESA Operations (@esaoperations) header
ESA Operations (@esaoperations) profile picture

ESA Operations

@esaoperations

From Earth orbit to deep space: sharing the excitement of realtime mission operations at the European Space Agency 🛰🕹️ Home of Space Safety 🛡️💙

 Darmstadt, Germany
esa.int/operations
Joined November 2008
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Photo by ESA Operations (@esaoperations)Photo by ESA Operations (@esaoperations)Photo by ESA Operations (@esaoperations)Photo by ESA Operations (@esaoperations)Photo by ESA Operations (@esaoperations)Photo by ESA Operations (@esaoperations)Photo by ESA Operations (@esaoperations)Photo by ESA Operations (@esaoperations)Photo by ESA Operations (@esaoperations)Photo by ESA Operations (@esaoperations)
👻Space can be scary. Solar storms ⚡asteroids ☄️ and orbital debris 🛰️ pose risks to the services we rely on every day. Check out our ESA Space Safety fleet and explore the missions keeping Earth and space safe: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
Image from ESA Operations (@esaoperations)
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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 29
It’s a big Universe out there! As Hera closed in on the Didymos asteroid system [in🟨box] its Asteroid Framing Camera also happened to catch sight of planet Uranus [in🟦box], more than 2.7 billion km away! Image acquired on 16 October, 36 922 km from Didymos hera.esa.int/
Hera Asteroid Framing Camera image of Didymos and Uranus acquired on 16 October 2026, 36 922 km from Didymos

ALT Hera Asteroid Framing Camera image of Didymos and Uranus acquired on 16 October 2026, 36 922 km from Didymos

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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 28
🛰️🪨After 2 years in deep space, ESA's Hera mission for planetary defence is closing in on its target - Dimorphos, the 1st object in the Solar System to have had its orbit changed by human action, when NASA's DART impacted it in 2022
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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 27
At last ESA's Hera spacecraft for planetary defence has come close enough to resolve both bodies in the Didymos binary asteroid system separately - the smaller one was deflected by NASA's DART back in 2022 esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Fi…
Dimorphos seen separate from the larger Didymos by Hera's Asteroid Framing Camera from 1280 km away

ALT Dimorphos seen separate from the larger Didymos by Hera's Asteroid Framing Camera from 1280 km away

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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 23
Hera’s second braking manoeuvre yesterday proved successful, reducing the spacecraft’s velocity relative to the Didymos and Dimorphos system by 70 m/s from a distance of 2300 km away. Some 90% of the 31-minute thruster firing took place in the early morning, followed by a cross-check of performance, with the remaining 10% occurring that afternoon. Hera is now moving at 20 m/s relative to the asteroids; a trio of smaller ‘transition’ manoeuvres this coming week will reduce Hera’s relative velocity down to near zero. hera.esa.int/
Hera spacecraft flying through space

ALT Hera spacecraft flying through space

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European Space Agency (@esa) profile picture
European Space Agency
@esaOct 22
The 350th ESA Council has appointed two new ESA Directors: 🔹 Andrzej Banasiak, Director of Commercialisation and Industry Partnership 🔹 Nicolaus Hanowski, Director of Space Operations Both will take up their duties on 1 January 2027. Congratulations to both, and best wishes in their new roles! 🔗 esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_n…
Andrzej Banasiak

ALT Andrzej Banasiak

Nicolaus Hanowski

ALT Nicolaus Hanowski

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Happy launchversary @BepiColombo ! 🎂🚀🎉 Here’s to an extraordinarily complex, challenging, transformative mission! ☀️🌑🛰️ @esa @JAXA_en @ISAS_JAXA_EN @esascience #Mercury #BepiColombo
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🔴 Ten Mars-velous years at the Red Planet! 🎉 Here’s to a decade full of: ✨ Discovery 🤝 Teamwork 🛰️ Evolving capabilities And to all that is yet to come! Thank you, TGO! Learn more here 👉 esa.int/Enabling_Support/Ope…
Large group photo of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter team gathered around a model of the spacecraft at an ESA event.

ALT Large group photo of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter team gathered around a model of the spacecraft at an ESA event.

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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 19
Check out the BBC @ScienceFocus Magazine guide to ESA's Space Safety programme - focused on safeguarding our planet against threats from space - which includes Hera! sciencefocus.com/space/aster…
The weird, high-stakes plan to save Earth from a world-ending asteroid | BBC Science Focus Magazine

The weird, high-stakes plan to save Earth from a world-ending asteroid | BBC Science Focus Magazine

When asteroids come tearing towards Earth, we rely on NASA's planetary defence team to save us from disaster.

sciencefocus.com
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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 16
Hera’s initial 93-minute braking manoeuvre on Thursday morning is confirmed to have performed within required parameters; the follow-up braking manoeuvre is scheduled for Thursday 22 October. Want to know more? Ask our Hera Space Companion hera.esa.int/
Hera firing thrusters

ALT Hera firing thrusters

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RT @ESA_Hera: Next week's kid-oriented Science Days of Germany's Europa Park theme park include talks on Hera - & a chance to experience th…
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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 15
Read about Hera's forthcoming arrival at the Dimorphos asteroid in this space.com feature: space.com/space-exploration/…
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What can nine hours in Earth’s shadow teach #Juice about how to explore #Jupiter? A lot! 🌑 Teams got to: 🔋 Test the spacecraft’s batteries 🔬 Do science in the dark 📷 Exercise autonomous navigation All while Earth helped steer Juice towards Jupiter. Read more 👉 esa.int/Enabling_Support/Ope…
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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 13
Hera imagery of Deimos gathered during last year's flyby is helping to guide MMX observations - godspeed!
ESA Science (@esascience) profile pictureESA Science
@esascienceOct 13
📣Launch announcement The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is set to launch on a H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center at 21:41 CEST on 19 October 2026 👉esa.int/Science_Exploration/… 1/4
Infographic explaining the MMX mission (part 1) in the style of a comic strip. At the top we see several logos: ESA, JAXA, NASA, DLR and CNES. Below there are three panels showing a timeline of the mission: October 2026 launch, August 2027 arrival at Mars, September 2027 arrival at Phobos. Two other panels show the mission observing Phobos from orbit and scouting for a landing site for the rover and a sample retrieval sites, and the release of the Idefix rover.

ALT Infographic explaining the MMX mission (part 1) in the style of a comic strip. At the top we see several logos: ESA, JAXA, NASA, DLR and CNES. Below there are three panels showing a timeline of the mission: October 2026 launch, August 2027 arrival at Mars, September 2027 arrival at Phobos. Two other panels show the mission observing Phobos from orbit and scouting for a landing site for the rover and a sample retrieval sites, and the release of the Idefix rover.

Infographic explaining the MMX mission (part 2) in the style of a comic strip. Several panels show the mission collecting samples from Phobos, the return module separating from the exploration module, dropping a capsule over Australia and a scientist holding the samples. A last panel lists the scientific questions scientists hope to answer using the samples: 'Where did Mars's moons come from?', 'What can they tell us about habitability in the Solar System?', and 'How has Mars and its environment changed over time?'.

ALT Infographic explaining the MMX mission (part 2) in the style of a comic strip. Several panels show the mission collecting samples from Phobos, the return module separating from the exploration module, dropping a capsule over Australia and a scientist holding the samples. A last panel lists the scientific questions scientists hope to answer using the samples: 'Where did Mars's moons come from?', 'What can they tell us about habitability in the Solar System?', and 'How has Mars and its environment changed over time?'.

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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 13
Join the Hera Asteroid Detectives during the school break at #ESTEC in 🇳🇱's visitor centre @Spaceexpo - and solve an asteroid mystery! This Hera-based interactive presentation is included in your main ticket space-expo.nl/en/agenda/herf…
Asteroid Detectives: Solve the space mystery! | Agenda | Space Expo Noordwijk

Asteroid Detectives: Solve the space mystery! | Agenda | Space Expo Noordwijk

Something has happened on an asteroid. An impact has left its mark, but no one knows exactly who is responsible. Can you solve the mystery?

space-expo.nl
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Check out Sawa’s mission patch, our second space weather nanosatellite mission! ☀️⚡🛰️🌍 The patch design shows the mermaid Sawa, based on a Polish legend. Why? 👉 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
Circular ESA Sawa mission patch. A stylised blue figure emerges beside Earth and reaches towards a bright orange and yellow Sun, surrounded by stars against a black background. A blue, feather-like tail curves across the bottom. The white ESA logo appears at the top and “sawa” at the bottom.

ALT Circular ESA Sawa mission patch. A stylised blue figure emerges beside Earth and reaches towards a bright orange and yellow Sun, surrounded by stars against a black background. A blue, feather-like tail curves across the bottom. The white ESA logo appears at the top and “sawa” at the bottom.

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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 9
Imagine throwing a ball up into the sky so hard & fast it just keeps going - that's our Hera mission, now nearing its target asteroids across millions of km of space. 🛰️ 🪨 But how does Hera know where it is & where it needs to go? That's the task of ESA's Flight Dynamics team esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Fi…
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ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) profile picture
ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_HeraOct 8
"Are we there yet?"🛰️ 🪨 "NEARLY!" 📽️Watch the latest episode of our animated Incredible Adventure of Hera series: The Space Detectives Arrive! esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Video…
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🤝We're teaming up with @IAU_CPS to keep the night sky dark and quiet. With more and more satellites in orbit, their reflected light and radio frequency interference become a challenge for both professional astronomy and simple stargazing. Learn what we can do 👉esa.int/Space_Safety/Clean_S… Image credit: F. Kamphues, ESO/M. Kornmesser
One hour of satellites over the northern Atacama Desert in Chile leave many streaks across the normally dark sky (October 2025).

ALT One hour of satellites over the northern Atacama Desert in Chile leave many streaks across the normally dark sky (October 2025).

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🚨🚨🚨On its second birthday in space, ESA's Hera mission for planetary defence has spotted its asteroid destination for the first time, from an approximate distance of 236 500 km away! The Didymos system is actually two asteroids, seen as a single pixel for now esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
A boxed pixel in a starfield with a close up bottom right

ALT A boxed pixel in a starfield with a close up bottom right

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