Poster representing ESA's Hera mission. The picture shows Hera, its two cubesats Milani and Juventas, and the target asteroids Didymos and DImorphos

New Hera mission poster #Hera #PlanetaryScience www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

The Asteroid Framing Cameras on ESA's Hera mission As the first asteroid deflection test, NASA's successfully hit asteroid Dimorphos (secondary of the binary asteroid 65803 Didymos) with the DART kinetic impactor on September 26, 2022. To fully charac...

Our article describing the Ateroid Framing Cameras on ESA's Hera mission is now available on arXiv arxiv.org/abs/2603.10594 #PlanetaryScience #PlanetaryDefense

He is publishing so many arXiv-only papers ! I had no idea... I thought he was just enjoying retirement and not publishing anymore...

Isotopic Evidence for a Cold and Distant Origin of the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Interstellar objects provide the only directly observable samples of icy planetesimals formed around other stars, and can therefore provide insight into the diversity of physical and chemical conditio...

Several papers on the isotopic composition of 3I/ATLAS on the arxiv today, with, e.g., 12C/13C being ca. 50% higher than measured in all solar system materials (D/H, 14N/15N too). Before, these kind of measurements were only possible in micron-scale presolar grains from primitive meteorites.🪐☄️ 1/11

Direct detection of an asteroid’s heliocentric deflection: The Didymos system after DART NASA’s DART mission changed the orbit of the Didymos system, revealing insights into the physical traits of its two asteroids.

Makadia et al: "targeting the secondary asteroid in binary systems constitutes a possible strategy for kinetic impact deflection" Very interesting analysis of the DART impact ! #DART #PlanetaryScience
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

ESA Space Safety Fleet ESA Space Safety Fleet

At ESA’s 2025 Ministerial Conference, the Space Safety Programme received significant support for its mission to predict, detect and mitigate space hazards, and to build towards a sustainable future in orbit. This is what we’re working on 👇

www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

This digital painting/render shows the NEAR spacecraft as it reached the surface, with attitude control jets spraying dust about. The spacecraft is a digital model I made from references, the asteroid surface foreground is based on the last photographs of the surface obtained on the way down. The rest of the scenery is painted based on more distant views. This was used on the cover of the mission final report.

This view shows the context of the final photos in relation to the landed attitude of the NEAR spacecraft. The surface relief is guesswork, with the final descent photographs draped over a hand painted Digital Elevation map of the rocks etc. That surface model became the basis of the foreground of the other portrayal.

25 years ago today the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous – Shoemaker spacecraft touched down on the Asteroid Eros, after orbiting it and making a map of the elongated 34 km long asteroid. It gently landed on the surface with its cameras obtaining views during the final descent. Digital art. #SCIART

This week I am remotely attending the Hera and RAMSES SOWG (Science Operations Working Group) meetings. We are planning the activities for two missions in parallel !

Interstellar objects: Visitors from other stars! [COMIC] Only three interstellar objects have ever been spotted. Here’s what we know about them and why they’re so cool.

THEY CAME FROM OTHER STARS! A new all-ages comic by @makinaro.com and me about 3I/ATLAS, `Oumuamua, and Borisov: why they're exciting, and why they're both familiar and alien at the same time. www.snexplores.org/article/inte...

Volbeat - In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom YouTube video by VolbeatVEVO

"In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom" by Volbeat

Or what if Elvis was doing some metal music ;)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gns8...

Our Space Science Reviews paper describing the Asteroid Framing Cameras on Hera will be accepted for publication after we correct a few minor typos :)
As soon as the paper is formally accepted I will put it on ArXiV, and publish the link here.

Very cool !

ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission moves up launch A delay in one European Space Agency mission is creating an opportunity for an earlier, and more capable, launch for another ESA spacecraft.

With Ariel facing delays, @esa.int Comet Interceptor has found a new ride with a commercial Arian 6 launch customer.
Comet Interceptor will carry MIRMIS being built by @oxfordphysics.bsky.social
🔭🧪 #planetsci

spacenews.com/esas-comet-i...

RAMSES Mission

@esa.int 's RAMSES mission has now an official science community website: www.ramsesmission.space

#PlanetaryScience

Stylised poster depicting the ESA-JAXA Ramses mission to asteroid Apophis

Third poster in our series: "Space Safety - in action!"

Mission: Ramses
Objective: Intercept and explore the asteroid Apophis as it passes Earth in 2029
Unique feature: Ramses capitalises on a one-in-7000-year scientific opportunity
Launch: 2028

Download at: esa.int/space-safety/in-action

Happy 2026 to all my friends and their families. May this year bring you happiness and health !

Congratulations !

ESA Member States commit to largest contributions at Ministerial The largest contributions in the history of the European Space Agency, €22.1 bn, have been approved at its Council meeting at Ministerial level in Bremen, ...

ESA's RAMSES mission is funded ! We are going to visit asteroid Apophis in 2029 :D
www.esa.int/About_Us/Cor...

#planetaryscience

Deimos in front of Mars, as seen by ESA's Hera mission.
www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

Fun fact: instruments are used to describe the rhythms of the system, pre-impact. Drum bass represents Didymos' rotation while the snare follows Dimorphos' orbit. The rhythmic parts are complemented by shrieking vocals and ethereal synthesizers fitting the outer space theme of the song.

Dimorphos, by 3xperimental 2 track album

When I am not studying asteroids, I write songs about them ;)
Exactly 4 years ago, I released a track to celebrate the success of the DART mission. The song is obviously called "Dimorphos" !

3xperimental.bandcamp.com/album/dimorp...

#metal, #planetaryscience

Sad news :(

You are going to like this one: Asteroid 21 Lutetia and Saturn :)
Imaged by Rosetta/OSIRIS in July 2010.

Sky-plane view of the equatorial disk model of Chiron's rings. The gray circle (98 km radius) marks Chiron itself. Black ellipses show the three narrow rings; dashed blue ellipses mark the 1/2 and 1/3 resonant zones; red ellipses indicate Roche limits.

Astronomers have discovered rings forming around a Centaur. For real: Chiron (a comet-asteroid hybrid orbiting beyond Saturn) has set of rings that seem to be changing by the year.

Regardless of what's happening on Earth, space continues to be amazing. 🧪🔭

iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...

Ramses: ESA’s mission to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis

Check out the new trailer for @esa.int's proposed Ramses mission! 🍿📽️

Ramses would escort the cruise-ship-sized asteroid Apophis through its safe but exceptionally rare flyby of Earth in 2029: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

Congratulations !

#planetaryscience

era’s Asteroid Framing Camera (AFC) captured this farewell image of Earth (bottom left) and the Moon (centre) on 11 October from a distance of approximately 1.6 million km. Earth is oriented with north pointing upwards, with the Pacific Ocean illuminated by the Sun. Credit: ESA

One year ago, our wonderful Hera mission lauched from Cape Canaveral and it has been performing amazingly since then.
A few days after launch, we acquired these beautiful views of our Earth and Moon, which have been used to calibrate the remote sensing instruments.

Hera’s first year in space

Happy launch anniversary to ESA's Hera mission! 🎂🥳

One year ago ESA's first planetary defence mission was stranded on Earth, its launcher grounded, as a hurricane closed in on its launch site. What a difference a year makes! www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

Illustration showing the main Comet Interceptor spacecraft and the two probes observing a comet from multiple directions at the same time.

Waiting for a comet in space ☄️

Targeting launch in 2029, #CometInterceptor will be parked in space, waiting for an as-yet-undiscovered comet to come by.

Discover more about this ESA-led mission in collaboration with JAXA 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭