ESA Exploration

"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…" says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA #εpsilon

"Day 109, orbit 1691 — So happy to see my little plants 🌱 growing as part of the #ChlorISS experiment!
260,000 students took part in this educational project exploring the influence of light/ effects of gravity on plant growth", says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA Edited by @cnes.fr

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. 🇸🇪 📸 SSC Space

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 👀

"Day 107, orbit 1658 — One of my hobbies in space is inventing fun science experiments on Sunday mornings. It’s a lot of fun, more challenging that I had imagined & it requires quite a bit of creativity! Spoiler alert: it does not always go as planned… 😂" – @esa.int astronaut S. Adenot 🎥 ESA/NASA

"Day 106, orbit 1644 — This timelapse shows the approach and docking of the SpaceX CRS‑34 🛰 resupply mission on 17 May. Isn’t it amazing to think that this docking manoeuvre takes place while flying at 28,000 km/h around the Earth?" asks esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA

"Day 105, orbit 1629 — This accelerated video shows the installation of MatISS-4, a French experiment that aims to collect and study the (unavoidable) biocontamination of the air inside the European Columbus module", explains esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot   
🎥 ESA/NASA

"Day 100, orbit 1547 — Sunday morning science with Sophie, episode 8: orbital mechanics and understanding the high beta angle period… I recorded this 2 weeks ago already", says esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. #εpsilon 🎥 ESA/NASA
 📷 Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace

"Day 099, orbit 1532 — In this slightly out-of-focus timelapse, I’m setting up the hardware for ESA Education’s Astro Pi Mission Space Lab", says esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. "👏 Congratulations to all the teams who worked on this!" 🎥 ESA/NASA

"Day 097, orbit 1505 — Turning a lens made of water into a blue filter… another fun experiment in microgravity! Even better, I get to eat the candy 😊", says esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA #εpsilon

Here's another test: one of the legs drops onto a soft surface filled with powdery, Mars-like soil. 📹 Slow motion video by Sener.

"Day 093, orbit 1439 — Sunday morning science episode #7: static electricity" by esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA #εpsilon • @cnes.fr

"Day 092, orbit 1425 — One of the everyday challenges of life in microgravity: carrying things around without losing them!" says esa.int Sophie Adenot. #εpsilon 🎥 ESA / NASA

What if we could a spacecraft using nothing but light? Graphene and lasers are joining forces for space propulsion. 💡 Happy #lightday2026! @idlofficial.bsky.social #UNESCO www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

"Day 091, orbit 1410 — In this timelapse, I’m setting up/carrying out a technology demonstration called IV Gen – Mini. It explores how the Station’s supply of potable water could be used to produce medical‑grade intravenous fluids, such as saline solutions", explains esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot

"Day 090, orbit 1397 — Did you know that light can bend each time it passes from one material to another? In microgravity, this effect can be recreated very simply by trapping a bubble of air inside a bubble of water... Isn’t science amazing?" – esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot   🎥 ESA/NASA #εpsilon

"Day 088, orbit 1365 — A short timelapse of what looks like a very simple task: swapping a hard drive 🔧. Except that it all happens in microgravity, inside the Zero Boil‑Off Tank (ZBOT)," explains esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA/POIC Huntsville

"Day 086, orbit 1330 — Sunday morning science with Sophie, episode 6: Surfing with water properties in space - the cohesion of water molecules🏄‍♀️", publishes esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA #εpsilon

"Day 085, orbit 1316 — Did you know you can spot the ISS using only your eyes? (...) Check out spotthestation.nasa.gov! I won’t be able to see you, but I’m thinking of you from up here!" – esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot 📸 NASA/ESA – S. Adenot 
 🎥 ESA (actual elapsed time: 30 min)

"Day 083, orbit 1282 — Did you know that a convex lens can bend light? (...) In microgravity, this phenomenon can be recreated very simply… using water", explains esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA

... and boasted about its supersonic adventure. Here is the video, slowed down 60 times. The actual flight lasted just half a second. blogs.esa.int/to-mars-and-...

"Day 082, orbit 1270 — This video shows routine maintenance of the ISS toilet system. I’m replacing the solid‑waste container, in which solid waste is kept airtight; this typically takes place every 10 days, when the container reaches capacity", explains esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. #εpsilon

Day 079, orbit 1222 — Sunday morning science with @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot, episode 5: Water and convex lenses, part II.   🎥 ESA/NASA #εpsilon

"Day 078, orbit 1208 — Another fun timelapse! This one offers a real behind-the-scenes look at a different aspect of the mission: communication. For many astronauts, free time is a chance to share this incredible experience of living and working in space!", says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot.

"Day 077 orbit 1191 — 💐 The 1st of May isn’t a public holiday on the Station, but it feels like a good time to share a simple message with you: take care of yourselves, and take care of our planet. Many thanks to all the teams supporting us today 🫶", says @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot.

"Day 076, orbit 1179 — Weighing yourself in weightlessness isn’t really about weight… it’s about mass. We use a special device that moves our body up and down because mass stays exactly the same, whether you’re on Earth or floating in orbit," explains @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 ESA/NASA

"Day 072, orbit 1113 — Sunday morning science with Sophie, episode 5: Water and convex lenses." – @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot   🎥 ESA/NASA #εpsilon

"Day 071, orbit 1099 — A timelapse of an essential part of life onboard the ISS: stowing equipment/putting things back where they belong. A more thorough tidy‑up is sometimes needed; in this case, it was to make room for E4D, our new European exercise device" – @esa.int astronaut S. Adenot #εpsilon

Times flies 🚀 Some 25 years ago, @esa.int astronaut Umberto Guidoni 🇮🇹 became the first European to reach the International Space Station. Umberto rocketed into orbit on space shuttle Endeavour. @eurospacehistory.bsky.social @ita.esa.int

"Day 069, orbit 1071 — The gyroscope, key to maintaining a spacecraft attitude in space 🌀 The Station relies on four Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs), large spinning wheels that use angular momentum to keep it properly oriented," explains @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot. 🎥 NASA/ESA

"Day 068, Orbit 1054 — Opening the shutters in the morning: what a beautiful way to start the day! 🌍" – @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot #εpsilon 🎥 NASA/ESA

"Day 057, orbit 0896 – Sunday morning science with Sophie, episode 3: Weighing yourself in weightlessness, part 2 ⚖️. The device used in this video to measure mass is called the Mass Measurement Device (MMD) or Измеритель Масс (ИМ) in Russian!", explains @esa.int astronaut Sophie Adenot 👇

"Day 057, orbit 0886 – Fun timelapse of the last activities on the Cygnus NG-23 cargo spacecraft before it was detached from the ISS and released into Earth orbit using the Canadarm2 robotic arm. The next Cygnus cargo ship, NG-24, launched earlier today!", says ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot. #εpsilon

Huge cheers from our international teams in the Orion Mission Evaluation Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center 🥳

Cheers from the joint Orion team in the Mission Evaluation Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center after a successful separation 🥳

#Artemis II question: why does Orion speed up and slow down throughout the lunar journey? 🌕 Our European Service Module propulsion lead Tobias Langener tells you in 20 seconds ⛰️

Thanks for the shout-out Reid! Safe travels from your European friends at @esa.int and Airbus 💞

🌓 Orion is almost 400 000 km away, whereas the International Space Station orbits about 400 km above Earth 🌍 As the two crews speak, there is almost an 8 second delay in their conversation ⏱️.

Graphene lights the way. Literally. Watch how aerogel cubes made of graphene react to light in microgravity. This innovative material could revolutionise propulsion beyond Earth. 🚀 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

‪A symbolic patch marks the halfway point of #Artemis II 🌙‬

The Mission Evaluation Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center cheers as Orion and its crew have reached the halfway point of their journey 🚀

As history was made, the sunlight shone on our @esa.int and NASA logos 🙌 (🎬 NASA livestream, sped up x10)

🎛️ Welcome to the White Flight Control Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Here flight controllers operate the spacecraft and monitor the #Artemis II mission 🚀 We are just a few hours away from the crew’s lunar flyby 🌙

👀 Behind the scenes tour of @esa.int's Eagle #Artemis II mission control room 🌙

"Day 051, orbit 788 – Sunday morning science with Sophie, episode 3: Weighing yourself in weightlessness, part 1 ⚖️", by astronaut Sophie Adenot. Check it out!