Sharing news on Europe's human and robotic exploration, from astronaut training to the next giant leap to the Moon and Mars.
Joined March 2011
- Tweets 13,203
- Following 643
- Followers 137,175
- Likes 11,768
6,848 Photos and videos
Human Spaceflight retweeted
Jun 12
Day 119, orbit 1845 — Delighted to have spoken in person with ESA Director General @AschbacherJosef, Director of @esaspaceflight Daniel Neuenschwander, and fellow astronauts Thomas Reiter, @Astro_Alex, and @astro_matthias at the @ILA_Berlin Air Show! It was a real pleasure to catch up with you all!
Events like these provide valuable opportunities for the European aerospace sector to connect, strengthen partnerships, and unlock new synergies, while inspiring the next generation of aerospace professionals and pilots.
Be bold and keep pushing boundaries! Go Europe, go ESA!
#εpsilon • #ILA2026
📸 @esa - Ph. Servent
7
78
459
8,609
Jun 12
Space never sleeps—and neither does mission control 🌍🚀
At @esa's Columbus Control Centre, teams work 24/7 to support astronauts like @soph_astro during their missions and keep science running smoothly on board the International @Space_Station.
🎧 Go behind the scenes and hear from a Columbus flight director in the latest episode of #ESAExplores:
🔊 pod.link/1463873320
📺 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Video…
@DLR_en
1
3
26
3,752
Jun 11
#ICYMI: @esa astronaut Luca Parmitano is piloting Artemis III 🥳
👨🚀 @astro_luca will use our European Service Module engines to carefully manoeuvre Orion, testing docking capabilities for future lunar landing missions 🌙
With 366 days in orbit, 30 hours spacewalking & 2000 flying hours, we know Luca is exactly the right person for this role 🚀
🔗 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
ALT ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano in his orange Artemis flight suit, with an ESA patch, against a black background. Credit: NASA
4
14
146
3,381
Jun 10
The hunt for water on the Moon is 🔛
@esa's Prospect package will drill beneath the lunar South Pole in search of water ice and oxygen to fuel future exploration. Launch is set for 2027 🚀
👀 Curious about the mission? Meet Prospect at #ILA2026 or at esa.int/prospect
@OpenUniversity @LDO_Space @Int_Machines @NASA #Space4Future
5
25
105
13,554
👨🚀🌕 Congratulations to @astro_luca on being assigned as @NASAArtemis III pilot! 🚀
Jun 9
Our astronaut Luca Parmitano is assigned as pilot of NASA’s #ArtemisIII mission.
With Europe powering Orion with the European Service Module, this mission will test the critical operations preparing for humankind's return to the Moon.
A strong step forward for ESA–NASA partnership.
🔗esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
📸 NASA
3
26
208
4,251
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano:
✈️ 2000 hours flying time on 40 types of aircraft
🌌 366 days in space, International @Space_Station commander, 30 hours spacewalking
👨🚀 ESA liaison at @NASA_Johnson, CAPCOM & training @esa astronauts
🌊 Artemis Underway Recovery Test 12
🚀 Artemis III pilot
ALT ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano during a spacewalk with NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy on 9 July 2013.
ALT ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano waiting for a target on Earth to photograph in the Cupola observatory on the International Space Station.
ALT Luca Parmitano preparing to take part in practicing Artemis recovery procedures during Underway Recovery Test-12 in March 2025. Credit: NASA
ALT Luca Parmitano in his Artemis flight suit. Credit: NASA
2
21
93
1,765
🚀 Our first two European Service Modules powered the Artemis I and Artemis II missions - now our third European Service Module will propel again the next flight, its engines used by Artemis III pilot @astro_luca to test the technologies we need to go back to the Moon 👨🚀🌙
ALT Artemis II
ALT Artemis I
3
23
1,349
“[My] launchpad is my country, Italy…The European Space Agency is like a launch tower… the rocket, literally and figuratively, is NASA.”
@ESA astronaut and Artemis III pilot @Astro_Luca shares words of gratitude.
52
378
2,091
111,587
🌕 Our third European Service Module's journey so far, from Europe to Florida… now ready to power humankind's next great journey 🚀.
📢 Tune in at 17:30 CEST 🔗youtube.com/live/g9Upxj1ZjlY
ALT The third European Service Module's structure at Thales Alenia Space in Turin. A grey cylinder in the middle of a cleanroom, with engineers in lab coats.
ALT The third European Service Module's main engine being installed at Airbus in Bremen. A black circle with a golden interior; from there silver triangular segments radiate outwards with wiring that can be seen between the panels.
ALT The third European Service Module and Crew Module Adapter undergoing acoustic testing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. A large white structure - cylindrical on the top and conical on the bottom, with a black square on the cylindrical part that is a solar array - surrounded by tall black towers of speakers in a cleanroom.
ALT The third European Service Module arriving at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. A grey cylinder in the middle of a cleanroom.
27
90
5,558
UPDATE: The Artemis III event will start at 11:30am ET (1530 UTC) on Tuesday, June 9!
Coming soon: one of history’s most complex missions
Tune in on Tuesday, June 9, at 11am ET, to meet the astronauts flying aboard Artemis III, the mission that will test docking capabilities with commercial landers in low Earth orbit — an important step to crewed lunar landings.
473
2,422
12,622
1,944,562
ESA will implement an astronaut mission to the International Space Station for the Czech Republic with @vast 🇨🇿👨🚀
Member of @esa's astronaut reserve @astro_ales is planned to serve as the mission’s pilot and would become the first Czech astronaut to visit the International @Space_Station, alongside ESA astronaut @Thom_astro as commander. The mission is planned for no earlier than 2027.
More details: esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Relea…
@mpo_tweetuje
ALT ESA portrait of Aleš Svoboda. Credits: ESA - A. Conigli
7
87
492
31,308
Human Spaceflight retweeted
Jun 8
#WatchLive | Artemis III
Tune in on 9 June at 17:00 CEST for a live update from NASA on the Artemis III mission.
With the third European Service Module powering Orion, this mission marks a key step towards returning humans to the Moon.
🔗youtube.com/live/g9Upxj1ZjlY
33
161
730
76,410
Human Spaceflight retweeted
Jun 6
Day 113, orbit 1753 — I love robotic operations! 🦾 In this timelapse, controllers on the ground are repositioning Dextre, our robotic handyman currently installed at the end of the Canadarm2. They used Dextre to unload equipment from the unpressurised Dragon trunk. Such a beautiful choreography to watch with Earth in the background!
Dextre is designed for delicate tasks and is attached to one end of Canadarm2 (the same robotic arm that we use to capture visiting cargo vehicles). Dextre is very often used to place scientific experiments outside of the ISS.
Go science! Go robotics!
Congratulations to the @csa_asc 🇨🇦 for enabling these robotic systems!
🎥 @esa / @NASA
#εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson •
11
124
685
14,494
🔴 The remains of a vast body of water might be awaiting us on Mars.
@esa's ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will land where water once ran deeper and wider than previously thought.
A new study points to an ancient bed of clay that could hold evidence of past life.
esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
7
23
1,408
For the past ten years, @ESA has partnered with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to encourage digital skills and scientific curiosity in young people through the Astro Pi Challenge, which includes Mission Zero and Mission Space Lab.
ESA astronaut @Soph_astro was the ambassador for the 2025-26 edition 👉 esa.int/Science_Exploration/… #εpsilon
3
30
1,424
Human Spaceflight retweeted
Jun 3
Jour 110, orbite 1705 – On mouille, on shampouine, on rinçe, puis on laisse sécher à l’air libre… Sur le papier, pas de grande différence entre se laver les cheveux dans l’espace ou sur Terre ! Dans les faits…
🎥 @ESA / @NASA
#εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson • @cnes •
82
496
3,014
72,749
Human Spaceflight retweeted
Jun 3
Day 110, orbit 1705 — We put water, we shampoo, we rinse, then we let it air dry… On paper, there isn’t much difference between washing your hair in space or on Earth! In reality…
🎥 @ESA / @NASA
#εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson
31
166
1,083
18,388
Space science for your heart 🫀
At the edge of space, European researchers injected blood samples into this circuit and measured how hard blood needs to be pumped to flow in microgravity.
Viscosity and flow matter for advancing treatments for blood disorders on Earth and for keeping astronauts healthy.
esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
2
3
26
3,626
The KRABS experiment used digital holography, an advanced microscopy technique, to capture red blood cell clusters forming and breaking apart.
This image was taken on Earth. More microgravity snapshots coming soon 👀
1
4
21
1,648
KRABS enjoyed 6 minutes of microgravity alongside a dozen other European experiments aboard the Suborbital Express-5, launched on 31 May from Esrange Space Center in Sweden. 🇸🇪
📸 @SSCspace
1
12
1,142