on my webpage! I am an experienced spacecraft analyst at the European Space Operations Centre via Telespazio Germany GmbH. Currently, I am the analyst for the X-ray astronomy mission XMM-Newton, but have worked as an analyst for almost all Earth Explorer spacecrafts previously. In the past I have worked as an astrophysicist studing accreting neutron stars and cosmological neutrino sources. For more details please have a look at the “About me” menu.
ESA Space Science News
Join ESA for a total solar eclipse on 12 August 2026
21/05/2026
Follow the total solar eclipse with the European Space Agency (ESA), in person or online.
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Smile launch highlights
19/05/2026
ESA’s Smile satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
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Smile lifts off on quest to reveal Earth’s invisible shield against the solar wind
19/05/2026
The Smile spacecraft lifted off on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026. The launch marks the beginning of an ambitious mission to better understand solar storms, geomagnetic storms, and the science of space weather.
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Inspector Smile, chapter 3: the countdown begins
18/05/2026
A ship sails smoothly into harbour.
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Preparing Smile for space
15/05/2026
Before Smile can begin studying how Earth responds to the streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun, the spacecraft had to complete an extraordinary journey here on Earth.
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Waterworn chaos on Mars
13/05/2026
This month, ESA’s Mars Express takes us to Shalbatana Vallis: a fascinating martian valley surrounded by signs of water, lava, craters and chaos.
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How to follow the Smile launch live
12/05/2026
ESA will be broadcasting live as the European-Chinese Smile mission launches at 04:52 BST/05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026.Smile will launch on a European Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.Times subject to change at short notice.
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Smile's journey from launch to orbit
12/05/2026
Our next space science mission is about to begin its space adventure.
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A beacon of light in swirls of dust
07/05/2026
This latest Picture of the Month from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope features Messier 77 (M77), a barred spiral galaxy famous among astronomers for its combination of relative proximity and spectacular features to study. It is located 45 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale). This new image from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) highlights its swirling spiral arms, the dust in its disc and its piercingly bright core like never before.
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Starry spiral in a familiar neighbourhood
30/04/2026
In this new image by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, a spiral galaxy glittering with star clusters is the centre of attention.
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Research Fellows in space science 2026
28/04/2026
ESA has selected six new Fellows to pursue their own independent research in space science in 2026.
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A pair of planet-forming discs
03/04/2026
This month’s NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month offers us a two-for-one on brand new stars – with some potential planets thrown in as well!
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Smile: A global answer to a global mystery
02/04/2026
The European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences are joining hands to uncover how Earth defends itself against dangerous particles and radiation from the Sun.
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Last glimpse of Smile
30/03/2026
Like a caterpillar inside a cocoon, the Smile spacecraft was enclosed inside a Vega-C rocket fairing on 26 March 2026, in preparation for liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 9 April.
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What is Smile about to discover?
30/03/2026
What really happens when the Sun’s charged particles slam into Earth’s magnetic shield?
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