Orbiting observatories

01 DÉC. 2012 14305

Today, missions operated by ESA are observing the Universe from space.What about the origin of the Universe itself? If we could ‘see’ microwaves, the night sky would glow with the very first light ever released into space. This was emitted by the Big Bang – the event in which the Universe itself was created. Studying this background of this light may reveal not only the origin of the Universe but, amazingly, the evidence about how the Universe will end. It could tell us whether the Universe will expand forever or collapse in on itself, thousands of millions of years from now.To support current and future observatory missions, the Agency's operations teams are honing the expertise required to fly spacecraft to destinations such as the L1/L2 Sun-Earth Lagrange points, to downlink extremely high volumes of data and to ensure absolutely accurate attitude control in cases where traditional techniques would be too disruptive to ultra-precise science observations.

Orbiting observatories

Astronomy & fundamental physics mission operations

Liens connexes

[ Technology ]

01 DÉC. 2012

SOHO operations

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is stationed 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth. There, it constantly watches the Sun, returning spectacular pictures and data of the storms that rage across its surface.SOHO's studies range from the Sun's hot interior, through its visible surface and stormy atmosphere, and out to distant regions where the wind from the Sun battles with a breeze of atoms coming from among the stars.The SOHO mission is a joint ESA/NASA project.

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[ Operations ]

CONTENU ARCHIVÉ : 04 DÉC. 2006

Integral operations

Editor's note: The Integral mission concluded its active science phase in March 2025. The spacecraft will continue to be actively monitored until its atmospheric reentry in 2029.This page is no longer being updated, but will be preserved as a record of the mission's remarkable achievements and scientific contributions over the last two decades. All Integral data will remain accessible for future research and analysis in the ESA science archives.“Thanks a lot, Integral, for all the great science and discoveries. We are excited to accompany you on the final stage of your journey, all the way to your reentry in 2029!” - Integral Spacecraft Operations Manager, Dr Jutta Huebner.Thank you for your support and interest in the Integral mission!

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[ Operations ]

CONTENU ARCHIVÉ : 04 DÉC. 2006

XMM-Newton operations

Editor's note: This page is no longer being updated, but will be preserved as a record. Click here for the latest information on XMM-Newton.ESA's XMM-Newton space observatory is the flagship of European X-ray astronomy. It is the most powerful X-ray telescope ever placed in orbit and is observing the 'hot' X-ray universe including objects like neutron stars, black holes and active galaxies. Over 300 scientific papers are published annually using data provided by XMM-Newton.

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[ Operations ]

CONTENU ARCHIVÉ : 01 FÉVR. 2020

Flying solo

Solar Orbiter will orbit our nearest star, the Sun, observing it up close. It will take the first-ever direct images of its poles, while also studying the inner heliosphere – the bubble-like region around the Sun created by the stream of energised, charged particles released in the solar wind.

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