Tag Archives: ESAs

ESA’s JUICE Spacecraft Sends Back New Images of 3I/ATLAS

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In November 2025, ESA’s Jupiter Ice Satellite Probe (Juice) utilized five scientific instruments to study 3I/ATLAS, marking the second interstellar comet ever identified in our neighboring universe. The spacecraft also captured fresh images of this interstellar traveler using its navigation camera (NavCam).

This image from ESA’s Juice spacecraft captures the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Image credit: ESA / Juice / NavCam / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

“Though the data from the scientific instruments won’t reach Earth until February 2026, our team was eager to see what we could find,” stated members of the Juice team.

“We opted to download just a quarter of a single NavCam image to test the waters.”

“To our astonishment, we clearly observed a comet, notably surrounded by signs of activity.”

“You can distinctly see the glowing gas surrounding the comet, referred to as the coma, along with indications of its two tails.”

“The comet’s ‘plasma tail,’ composed of electrically charged gas, stretches toward the top of the image.”

“A fainter ‘dust tail,’ made of tiny solid particles, can also be seen extending to the bottom left.”

Annotated version of the Juice image depicting interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Image credit: ESA / Juice / NavCam / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

The image of 3I/ATLAS was captured on November 2, during the initial observation window of Comet Juice.

This observation took place on November 4, just two days before Juice’s closest approach to the comet, approximately 66 million kilometers (41 million miles) away.

“On February 18 and 20, 2026, we will receive data from the five scientific instruments (JANUS, MAJIS, UVS, SWI, PEP) activated during the observation,” the researchers mentioned.

“This delay results from Juice currently using its main high-gain antenna as a heat shield against the sun, while a smaller medium-gain antenna transmits data to Earth at a slower rate.”

Even though Juice was situated farther from 3I/ATLAS than ESA’s Mars rover—which returned in October—it observed 3I/ATLAS shortly after the comet’s closest proximity to the Sun, suggesting a more active state.

“We anticipate clearer indications of this activity with data from our scientific instruments,” the scientists elaborated.

“This will encompass not only visuals from JANUS (Juice’s high-resolution optical camera), but also spectrometry data from MAJIS and UVS, compositional insights from SWI, and particle data from PEP.”

Source: www.sci.news

Chloride-containing deposits found on Mars by ESA’s Trace Gases Probe

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Chloride deposits are indicators of the presence of water on early Mars and have important implications for understanding the Martian climate and habitability. Color and Stereo Surface Imaging Systems Using the spacecraft (CaSSIS) aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Trace Gases Explorer (TGO), planetary researchers conducted a planet-wide search for chloride-bearing deposits in Terra Sirenum and other parts of Mars.

This CaSSIS/TGO image shows chloride-bearing deposits (purple-colored scaly waves) in Terra Sirenum on Mars. Image credit: ESA/TGO/CaSSIS.

“Mars is currently a desert world, but around 3.5 billion years ago it was covered by rivers, lakes and possibly oceans,” said University of Bern researcher Valentin Bickel and his colleagues.

“The Cold Period began as Mars lost its magnetic field, could no longer retain its atmosphere, and water evaporated, froze, or became trapped within the surface.”

“Over time, the water disappeared, leaving behind mineral fingerprints on the surface.”

In this study, the researchers used neural networks to map potential chloride-bearing deposits in CaSSIS images across a large portion of Mars.

They identified a total of 965 potential chloride deposits ranging from 300 to 3,000 metres in diameter.

“These salt deposits probably formed from shallow pools or brines that evaporated in the sun,” the scientists said.

“Similar methods are used in saltwater pools on Earth to produce salt for human consumption.”

“Highly salty water could be a haven for life and an indicator of habitable parts of Mars,” the researchers added.

“Due to the high salinity, the water remains liquid even at minus 40 degrees.”

“The presence of chloride deposits, pictured above, and their direct association with liquid water, make areas like Terra Sirenum good targets for future robotic missions to search for signs of life.”

“While chloride-bearing terrains are not noticeable in regular black-and-white images, they show up as a distinct purple color in color infrared images, making CaSSIS a unique tool for studying the distribution of salts across Mars.”

“Our paper contains never-before-seen data that will help us better understand the distribution of water on Mars' distant past,” they said.

“TGO continues to image Mars from orbit to understand the planet's ancient past and potential habitability.”

“Not only will the spacecraft send back stunning images, it will also provide the best inventory of atmospheric gases and map water-rich areas on the planet's surface.”

“Understanding the history of water on Mars and whether it once allowed life to thrive is at the heart of ESA's ExoMars mission.”

Team paper Featured in this month's journal Scientific Data.

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VT Bickel others2024. Global dataset of potential chloride deposits on Mars identified by TGO CaSSIS. Scientific Data 11,845;doi: 10.1038/s41597-024-03685-3

Source: www.sci.news

352 new binary asteroid candidates discovered by ESA’s Gaia mission

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Binary asteroid systems have attracted the attention of the scientific community due to their intriguing properties and significant impact on our understanding of the Solar System. Unlike single asteroids, binary systems provide unique insights into many fundamental processes, including planetary formation and evolution, collision dynamics, and gravitational interactions.

Gaia has discovered possible moons around 352 asteroids that are not known to have companion stars. Image courtesy of ESA.

Asteroids are fascinating celestial objects that hold unique insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system.

Binary stars are even more fascinating because they allow astronomers to study how different objects in the universe form, collide, and interact.

With our unique all-sky scanning function, ESA's Gaia satellite Since its launch in 2013, it has made a number of important asteroid discoveries.

In Data Release 3, Gaia pinpointed the positions and movements of more than 150,000 asteroids. That precision has allowed scientists to probe deeper, looking for asteroids that exhibit a characteristic “wobble” caused by the gravitational pull of their orbiting companion stars.

Gaia has also collected data on the asteroid's chemistry, compiling the largest ever collection of asteroid reflectance spectra – light curves that reveal an object's color and composition.

More than 150,000 orbits determined in Gaia's Data Release 3 were refined as part of the mission's Focused Product Release last year, making them 20 times more accurate.

Gaia's upcoming Data Release 4 (due after mid-2026) is expected to reveal the orbits of even more asteroids.

“Binary asteroids are difficult to find because most are very small and far away from Earth,” said Dr Luana Liberato, an astronomer at the Observatory of the Côte d'Azur.

“Although just under one in six asteroids are predicted to have companion stars, only half a billion of the one million known asteroids have been found to be in binary systems.”

“But this discovery shows that there are many more asteroid moons still waiting to be discovered.”

“If confirmed, this new discovery adds 352 potential binary systems, nearly doubling the known number of moon-bearing asteroids.”

“Gaia is proving to be an excellent asteroid explorer, working hard to unlock the secrets of the universe, both within our solar system and beyond,” said Dr Timo Prusti, ESA's Gaia project scientist.

“This discovery highlights the Gaia data release as a major improvement in data quality and demonstrates the incredible new science made possible by this mission.”

a paper A paper describing the results has been published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

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L. Liberato others2024. Binary asteroid candidate in the Gaia DR3 astronomical measurements. A&A 688, A50;doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202349122

This article was based on an original release from ESA.

Source: www.sci.news