on my webpage! I am an experienced spacecraft analyst at the European Space Operations Centre via Telespazio Germany GmbH. Currently, I am the analyst for the X-ray astronomy mission XMM-Newton, but have worked as an analyst for almost all Earth Explorer spacecrafts previously. In the past I have worked as an astrophysicist studing accreting neutron stars and cosmological neutrino sources. For more details please have a look at the “About me” menu.
ESA Space Science News
ESA observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
20/11/2025
The European Space Agency (ESA) reacted promptly to the discovery of comet 3I/ATLAS on 1 July 2025. Soon after they were alerted to its existence by automated detection systems, ESA astronomers began using ground-based telescopes in Hawaii, Chile, and Australia to monitor its progress.Since then, the comet has been observed by space telescopes close to Earth, including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.In the coming months, ESA will turn interplanetary voyagers such as Mars Express, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) in the direction of the comet to make further observations from excellent vantage points.Follow the links below for more information.
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Lessons from the November 2025 solar storm
21/11/2025
Good to go – Let's Smile (episode 4)
21/11/2025
Smile is a brand-new space mission currently in the making.
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Marking one year until BepiColombo reaches Mercury
21/11/2025
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has been cruising towards Mercury since October 2018. With just one year to go until it arrives at its destination, what has the mission achieved so far? And what can we expect from its two spacecraft after they enter orbit around the Solar System’s smallest and least-explored rocky planet?
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The epic adventures of BepiColombo - Part 2: It’s a long way to Mercury
21/11/2025
Bepi, Mio and MTM’s adventures continue! What have they achieved on their extraordinary journey to Mercury, planet of extremes and mysteries?
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Smile approved for launch in spring 2026
20/11/2025
Smile has passed its qualification and flight acceptance review, meaning that it meets all requirements for launch. The launch window has been set for 8 April to 7 May 2026.
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Webb spots greedy supermassive black hole in early Universe
19/11/2025
Researchers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed an actively growing supermassive black hole within a galaxy just 570 million years after the Big Bang. Part of a class of small, very distant galaxies that have mystified astronomers, CANUCS-LRD-z8.6 represents a vital piece of this puzzle and challenges existing theories about the formation of galaxies and black holes in the early Universe. The discovery connects early black holes with the luminous quasars we observe today.
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A solar prominence hovers over the Sun
14/11/2025
The Sun is always mesmerising to watch, but Solar Orbiter captured a special treat on camera: a dark ‘prominence’ sticking out from the side of the Sun.
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ESA pinpoints 3I/ATLAS’s path with data from Mars
14/11/2025
Since comet 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object, was discovered on 1 July 2025, astronomers worldwide have worked to predict its trajectory. ESA has now improved the comet’s predicted location by a factor of 10, thanks to the innovative use of observation data from our ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft orbiting Mars.
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Swoosh!
06/11/2025
When a meteoroid shook the edge of Apollinaris Mons on Mars, it triggered streaks that carved a hundred new scratches on the surface.
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Euclid peers through a dark cloud’s dusty veil
05/11/2025
This shimmering view of interstellar gas and dust was captured by the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope.
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Seas of the Sun: The story of Cluster
31/10/2025
What began with tragedy ended in triumph.
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The Red Spider Nebula, caught by Webb
28/10/2025
The Red Spider Nebula (Webb)
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Fly over Xanthe Terra with Mars Express
02/10/2025
ESA’s Mars Express takes us on another mesmerising flight over curving channels carved by water, islands that have resisted erosion, and a maze of hilly terrain.
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Mars’s atmospheric mille-feuille
22/09/2025
Slices from the edge of Mars reveal a layered atmosphere of delicate complexity.
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