News and Events

Microgravity flights open to the public!

Parabolic flights on the Airbus A300 Zero-G are now open to all. A first in Europe!

News Observation Institutional

SARAL/AltiKa to enhance understanding of Earth’s...

The French-Indian SARAL/AltiKa altimetry mission is scheduled to launch 25 February from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in southern India. Its goal is to enable closer monitoring...

Europe decides to invest in space

20-21 November, ministers from the 20 ESA member states met in Naples to chart the agency’s course for the years ahead. France will contribute €2.2 billion in funding for 2013-...

Apophis to come close to Earth in 2029

François Colas, an astronomer at the IMCCE celestial mechanics and ephemeris calculation institute (IMCCE), observed the passage of the asteroid Apophis from the Pic du Midi...

News Other field Institutional

4 Galileo satellites in orbit

The 3rd and 4th satellites of the Galileo global satellite navigation system were launched one week ago from the Guiana Space Centre. They have now joined their predecessors,...

September 14, 2012

IASI in orbit on MetOp-B satellite

A 2nd IASI meteorology instrument, developed by CNES, was orbited Monday 17 September aboard the European MetOp-B satellite. The Russian Soyuz launcher lifted off from the...

September 14, 2012

ATV-3 Edoardo Amaldi leaves ISS

The 3rd European resupply vehicle undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on 28 September, ending a 6-month stay during which it ferried food and fuel to the crew.

September 14, 2012

Curiosity makes successful Mars landing

The Curiosity rover, part of America's MSL mission, touched down on the Red Planet on Monday 6 August 2012, according to schedule. A confirmation signal was received at 7:31...

August 10, 2012

JUICE - A new mission to explore Jupiter and its...

The European Space Agency (ESA) recently selected the JUICE mission under its Cosmic Vision programme for 2015-2025. JUICE will reach Jupiter and its icy moons in 2030 and study...

May 16, 2012

CoRoT’s haul of 25 exoplanets

After 5 years in orbit, CNES’s space telescope just keeps on surprising with the quality of its observations. Olivier La Marle, astrophysics programmes coordinator at CNES,...

January 4, 2012

Jason-1 clocks up 10 years of climate observations

The Jason-1 ocean-observing satellite has been in orbit for 10 years. In that time, it has helped to build up a 20-year time series of continuous sea-surface measurements to...

News Observation Institutional

December 7, 2011

First Pléiades satellite to launch 16 December

The first of the 2 Pléiades satellites is set to be orbited on 16 December by a Soyuz launcher from the Guiana Space Centre, ushering in a new generation of Earth imagery to add...

December 7, 2011

MSL on its way to Mars

Curiosity, the ultra-sophisticated rover on the U.S. Mars Science Laboratory mission, lifted off for Mars on 26 November from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Several French laboratories...

November 28, 2011

Phobos-Grunt: destination Mars in November

The Russian space probe is scheduled to depart for Phobos, Mars’ small moon, on 8 November with several French instruments. Its goal: to determine Phobos’ origins.

November 27, 2011

ESA ground station makes contact with Phobos-Grunt

The European Space Agency (ESA) succeeded in making contact with the Russian spacecraft stuck in Earth orbit on Tuesday 22 November, reviving hopes that the mission might be saved.

November 24, 2011

Phobos-Grunt probe could disintegrate in early...

The Russian spacecraft has so far failed to set a course for Mars and could re-enter Earth’s atmosphere early in January if engineers are unable to regain control of it.

November 16, 2011

Phobos-Grunt probe fails to achieve Mars...

The Russian probe failed to achieve its intended Mars trajectory a few hours after lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Tuesday at 21:16 CET. The Russian space agency...