News and Events

Tele-epidemiology: satellites see mosquitoes...

Tele-epidemiology, relying on satellite imagery to study relationships between climate, the environment and health, is spawning a host of projects in West Africa. Risk maps able...

MSL: Gale Crater chosen for Mars exploration in...

NASA has announced the landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. The target is an impact crater with an eroded mountain at its centre. French teams are part of...

DIABSAT: one-year progress report

The DIABSAT programme uses satellite technology to provide mobile screening for the complications of diabetes in the Midi-Pyrénées region of southwest France. The service, in...

ATV-5 docked with the International Space Station

Europe’s fifth ISS cargo resupply ship, sent aloft 30 July by an Ariane 5 launcher, reached its destination this Tuesday 12 August. The station crew will be opening the hatch in a...

A French instrument on Mars in 2012

The SAM suite of instruments, which will study the organic composition of the Martian soil and atmosphere for the MSL mission, is all set to go. A French team is involved in the...

CNES at the 2011 Paris Air Show

The 49th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget from 20-26 June will be showcasing the latest technological innovations in aerospace. CNES will be there with an original pavilion...

Soyuz launch pad handed over to Arianespace

The Soyuz launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre was officially handed over by ESA to Arianespace on 7 May 2011 during a special ceremony at Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana.

Very-high-speed satellite broadband on the market...

With satellite broadband Internet access set to be available in France in a few weeks’ time, the government recently announced funding for CNES to initiate a research and...

Argos marks 25 years serving the environment

Formed in 1986 by CNES and Ifremer1, the French institute of marine research and exploration, CLS turned 25 today. Its Argos transmitters and satellite systems are used by...

Fukushima - Forecasting radiation dispersal at sea

In the wake of the nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan, the SIROCCO research group in Toulouse, overseen by CNES, has been simulating the dispersal of contamination at sea...

GOCE redraws the map of Earth’s geoid

After 2 years in orbit, ESA’s GOCE satellite recently unveiled the latest 3D map of Earth’s geoid, the reference surface that serves to measure elevations.

CNES works to enhance GPS positioning

As professional applications relying on the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) continue to expand, CNES’s engineers are working tirelessly to improve its positional...

CFOSAT to gain new insights into sea state

A joint project of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and CNES, CFOSAT is now entering its detailed definition phase. The future satellite’s chief goal will be to...

SPOT: 25 years in service, 25 million images

The SPOT satellites, conceived and designed by CNES engineers, are celebrating 25 years in service. During their career, three generations of satellites have brought users an ever...

Yuri Gagarin exhibition at the Palais de la...

Satellites come to New Zealand’s aid

On 21 February, a severe earthquake hit the city of Christchurch. Satellites quickly swung into action to cover the disaster for the International Charter on Space and Natural...

SOHO spots its 2,000th comet

On 26 December 2010, the SOHO spacecraft clocked up its 2,000th comet. Helping in its quest, a network of devoted amateur astronomers keenly pores over each image acquired by the...

Parasol satellite mission could be extended

Parasol completed its 6th year in orbit on 18 December 2010. This mission to observe clouds and aerosols in Earth’s atmosphere has been a great a success for CNES, which is now...