ESA Operations

@operations.esa.int

From Earth orbit to deep space: sharing the excitement of real-time mission operations at the European Space Agency. Home for ESA's teams working on Planetary Defence, Space Weather, Clean Space & Space Debris.
esa.int/Operations
esa.int/Space_Safety

@operations.esa.int Oct 9, 2026, 9:30 AM

Imagine throwing a ball up into the sky so hard it just keeps going - that's our Hera mission, now nearing its target asteroids across millions of km of space.
🛰️ 🪨
But how does Hera know where it is & where it needs to go? Thanks goes to ESA's Flight Dynamics team! www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

@operations.esa.int Oct 8, 2026, 8:59 AM

🦖Do you have a name for Hera's pet dino? Come up with one and you could win a place at the unveiling of the mission's first asteroid close-up in Berlin next month! www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

@operations.esa.int Oct 8, 2026, 8:50 AM

"Are we there yet?"🛰️ 🪨

"ALMOST!"

📽️Watch the latest episode of our animated Incredible Adventure of Hera series: The Space Detectives Arrive! www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

@operations.esa.int Oct 8, 2026, 8:13 AM

🤝We're teaming up with IAU CPS to keep the night sky dark and quiet. Satellites' reflected light and radio frequency interference challenge professional astronomy as well as simple stargazing 👉 www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

Credit: F. Kamphues, ESO/M. Kornmesser

@operations.esa.int Oct 7, 2026, 3:03 PM

🚨🚨🚨On its second birthday in space, ESA's Hera mission for planetary defence has spotted its asteroid destination for the first time, from an approximate distance of 236 500 km away!

The Didymos system is actually two asteroids, seen as a single pixel for now www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

@operations.esa.int Oct 7, 2026, 1:09 PM

Launched two years ago today, ESA's Hera mission for planetary defence is preparing for its single most challenging activity since lift-off: the sustained braking manoeuvre allowing it to approach its target asteroids! www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

@operations.esa.int Oct 7, 2026, 12:52 PM

🎂Happy birthday Hera🛰️! ESA’s asteroid mission for planetary defence lifted off two years ago today! 📽️But where is Hera about to arrive at, and how might its discoveries one day help save planet Earth...?

@operations.esa.int Oct 7, 2026, 9:04 AM

Celebrate Hera's 2nd birthday in space online with mission principal investigator Patrick Michel at sciencekind.com at 1830 CEST (1730 UK BST) this evening - reserve your virtual seat now!

Poster of Science Kind event showing Patrick Michel as today's speaker and Chris McKay as tomorrow's speaker

@operations.esa.int Oct 5, 2026, 6:46 AM

ESOC's dinosaur loved meeting visitors at Open Day. 🦖

Asteroids? Not so much. ☄️

Understandably, she's a huge fan of the @esa.int Space Safety #Hera mission!

🦕 Vote in the Hera Dino Contest 👉 www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

#ESOCOpenDay #SpaceSafety

@operations.esa.int Oct 2, 2026, 3:45 PM

The looks on their faces says it all 🤩

Visitors at #ESOCOpenDay are getting a rare glimpse inside @esa.int ’s Mission Control as the #BepiColombo team simulate a key milestone on the road to #Mercury. 🛰️🌑☀️

This isn't a demo. It's the real thing – Mission Control in action! 💯✨

#ESA #JAXA

@operations.esa.int Oct 2, 2026, 12:17 PM

Today is the day – @esa.int’s #ESOC in Darmstadt is opening its doors! 🚀🎉

The site is currently busy welcoming around 2,000 visitors for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the place #WhereMissionsComeAlive, filled with fun for every space enthusiast.

📷ESA

@operations.esa.int Sep 30, 2026, 8:10 AM

Got a message for Mercury?

🎨Draw it 🎵Sing it ✍️Write it 🎥Film it

Enter @esa.int's #WelcomeToMercury competition for a chance to win a trip to ESA Mission Control and witness BepiColombo's Mercury arrival on 9 December!

📅 Enter by 25 October

Learn more & enter here 👉
www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

@operations.esa.int Sep 28, 2026, 4:41 PM

🛰️🌏🌚 While Europe slept through the night, @esa.int's #Juice teams were hard at work.

After a planned long eclipse through Earth's shadow, Juice successfully completed its Earth flyby, passed closest approach, and reacquired signal today at 15:01 CEST. 📡✅

Another milestone on the way to #Jupiter!

@operations.esa.int Sep 25, 2026, 2:31 PM

A small push for @esa.int & #JAXA #BepiColombo, a giant leap towards #Mercury! 🛰️➡️🌑

Without MTM, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter is preparing for orbit insertion.

Yesterday's successful thruster burn tested the propulsion system & delivered a planned 11.4 m/s trajectory correction ✅

@science.esa.int

@operations.esa.int Sep 23, 2026, 11:29 AM

The ESA-JAXA Ramses planetary defence spacecraft has been turned on for the first time by its prime contractor in Italy – marking a major milestone in its time-critical development schedule:
www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

Signal on screens seen by technicians from the partially complete Ramses spacecraft seen in a clean room

Artist's impression of the Ramses spacecraft approaching the Apophis asteroid

@operations.esa.int Sep 23, 2026, 8:22 AM

Currently speeding through space at 12 km/s, ESA’s Hera spacecraft is due to reach its target Dimorphos asteroid this November. But if an astronaut were magically teleported onto Hera, what would they see & what would it happen if they let themself fall? www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

Image of imaginary astronaut sat on Hera spacecraft above asteroids

@operations.esa.int Sep 18, 2026, 2:03 PM

LEOP complete for @esa.int’s FLEX 💪 🛰️

Since #FLEX launched alongside #Copernicus #Sentinel-3C on 15 September, teams at #ESOC have been working around the clock to complete the spacecraft’s launch and early orbit phase (LEOP).

Congratulations to all the FLEX teams and partners! 👏

FLEX mission team members Andrea Ferrari, Gerome Fastrez, Vladimir Zelenevskiy, and Isabel Dauvin stand in the Main Control Room at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) during the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) of FLEX.

Large wall-mounted displays show mission data and spacecraft imagery, while the illuminated ESA and ESOC logos and electronic status boards are visible beneath the centre’s distinctive honeycomb-patterned ceiling.

Mario Benincasa, PDGS Instrument Engineer at ESA, Aiv Engineer at ESA Francesco Sirchia, Marta De Laurentis, PDGS Subsystem Engineer at ESA, Massimo Romanazzo, Head of ESA & Third Party Missions Ground Segment Section, Alessandra Rech, ESA’s FLEX PDGS Ground Segment Manager, and Timon Hummel, ESA FLEX Mission Manager, look into the Main Control Room at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) during the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) of FLEX.

The team members stand behind a glass wall, observing spacecraft operations displays and monitoring screens. Reflections of data screens and consoles overlay the scene.

ESA’s Flight Operations Director for FLEX, Elia Maestroni, and ESA’s Head of Earth Observation and Resilience Missions Division, Jose Morales Santiago in the Main Control Room at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) during the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) of FLEX.

Both individuals are wearing headsets sit at consoles in a control room, monitoring spacecraft operations. A sign labelled “FOD – Flight Operations Director” is visible in the foreground, while computer displays, mission data screens, and other team members can be seen through the glass-walled operations area in the background.

ESA Spacecraft Operations Engineers Francis Gneba and Anne Hartmann in the Main Control Room at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) during the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) of FLEX.

Both stand behind the “ANALYST” console monitoring spacecraft operations. Reflections of screens and control-room lighting appear in the glass partition separating the operations area.

@operations.esa.int Sep 18, 2026, 12:34 PM

ESA's proposed Neomir spacecraft will use the infrared to spot asteroids hidden in the Sun's glare. It is a planetary defence mission but one with considerable scientific potential - as shown in this week's inaugural Neomir Science Workshop in Nice, France neomir-nice.sciencesconf.org?lang=en

@operations.esa.int Sep 17, 2026, 1:01 PM

After 34 intense hours, the team at @esa.int’s #ESOC completed the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) for #Copernicus #Sentinel-3C, following its launch alongside #FLEX on 15 September.

Congratulations to everyone who made this milestone possible. 👏

📷ESA/J.Mai

Close-up of a Sentinel‑3 mission sticker and FLEX mission sticker on a water bottle beside a small satellite model on a desk in a mission operations room at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) during the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) for Copernicus Sentinel-3C.

In the background, Franco Marchese, ESA Flight Operations Director for the Sentinel-3C LEOP, is wearing a headset works at a computer workstation, with screens and control-room equipment visible out of focus.

Two Ground Operations Managers, Pablo Asenjo Garcia and Ruddy-Herard Chatim, sit at a workstation at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) during the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) for Copernicus Sentinel-3C.

The workstation features multiple monitors displaying spacecraft operations data and communication schedules. Laptops, consoles, and control-room equipment are arranged across the desk, while additional screens and workstations fill the background of the mission operations room.

Federico Ferre, Data Handling Engineer at ESA, sits at a workstation at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) during the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) for Copernicus Sentinel-3C.

Federico is wearing a headset works at a multi-screen workstation, monitoring spacecraft operations data, schedules, and system status displays. Printed procedures, a laptop, and several monitors are arranged across the desk, while additional operators and wall-mounted displays are visible in the background of the mission operations room.

@operations.esa.int Sep 17, 2026, 10:29 AM

Check out the new mission patch for Swing, ESA’s first nanosat mission dedicated to space weather ☀️⚡🛰️🌍
Swing will monitor the ionosphere, represented by a yellow band between Earth and the Sun. More on Swing: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

Older posts