Aliens observed

Mosaic art at ESA’s Earth observation centre ESRIN near Rome, Italy. French artist Invader is installing his iconic art at ESA establishments all over Europe and even on the International Space Station.

ESA has been monitoring Earth with its environmental satellites since the 1970s, keeping a constant watch over our planet by analysing satellite data to protect our environment.

The first space invader mosaic art was found by ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti during her Futura mission on the International Space Station. She installed ‘Space2’ in Europe's Columbus space laboratory. Since then space-themed art has appeared at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, at ESA’s ESEC centre in Belgium, our space operations centre ESOC in Germany and ESTEC, ESA's technical heart in The Netherlands, and even took over ESA's headquarters in Paris, France.

The installation of Invader’s art links the international character of ESA working on the frontiers of knowledge to use space for humanity’s benefit while fostering Europe’s competitiveness and growth.

Mission control believes Invader will not stop yet and expects more invasions to activate aliens at other ESA establishments throughout the year. Follow their progress on Twitter via #space2iss and #SpaceInvader.

Download a free app by the artist to spot and collect Invader art at ESA establishments and all over the world. Gain points by taking pictures of the mosaics and compare your scores.