ESA’s Venus Express is helping planetary scientists investigate whether Venus once had oceans. If it did, it may even have begun its existence as a habitable planet similar to Earth.

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures a complex network of gas clouds and star clusters within our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. This region of energetic star birth is one of the most active in the nearby Universe.

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided insights into two recent events on Jupiter: the mysterious flash of light on 3 June and the disappearance of the planet’s dark Southern Equatorial Belt.

ESA’s comet-chaser Rosetta is heading for a blind date with asteroid Lutetia. Rosetta does not yet know what Lutetia looks like up-close but beautiful or otherwise the two will meet on 10 July.

Yesterday in Paris, ESA’s Herschel and Planck science missions were honoured by the French Association for Aeronautics and Astronautics. The association’s Grand Prix 2010 award for “outstanding space endeavours” was bestowed upon these groundbreaking missions.

This video shows what future astronauts would see from their cockpit: Mars turning below as they sweep around the Red Planet. Last month, ESA's Mars Express snapped images every minute to create a unique video that loops through a complete orbit of Earth's gorgeous neighbour.

There are surprising signs of unrest in a massive cluster of stars. By comparing observations made ten years apart of the nebula NGC 3603, astronomers have for the first time measured the tiny motions of several hundred young stars.

Deposits of volcanic ash colour this view of the Meridiani Planum, as seen by the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera. They also give clues to the prevailing wind direction in this region of Mars.

ESA’s Herschel infrared space telescope has made an unexpected discovery: a hole in space. The hole has provided astronomers with a surprising glimpse into the end of the star-forming process.

ESA's Herschel infrared space observatory is changing the way scientists view the Universe. From nearby celestial objects to distant ones, from the smallest molecules to the largest galaxies, Herschel is revealing new details about how the Universe behaves. Full story

ESA PR 09-2010. The first scientific results from ESA's Herschel infrared space observatory are revealing previously hidden details of star formation. New images show thousands of distant galaxies furiously building stars and beautiful star-forming clouds draped across the Milky Way. One picture even catches an ‘impossible’ star in the act of formation.

Watch a reply of the Herschel First Results Media Day webcast on 6 May, 12:00-12:50 CEST. The programme features live coverage of the 'First Results' presentations by ESA's Director of Science and Robotic Exploration and Herschel scientists. Herschel was launched in May 2009 and began viewing the sky a month later. The event will take place at Space Expo, at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, The Netherlands.

More information including programme schedule here.

Watch live streaming video from eurospaceagency at livestream.com

ESA PR 08-2010. Media representatives are cordially invited to celebrate the release of the first results from ESA’s Herschel infrared space telescope. The theme of the media day is: Revealing the Hidden Side of Star Formation.

New images from ESA’s Planck space observatory reveal the forces driving star formation and give astronomers a way to understand the complex physics that shape the dust and gas in our Galaxy.

The most prolific space observatory will zoom past its 20-year milestone this weekend. On 24 April 1990, the Space Shuttle and its crew released the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope into Earth orbit. What followed is one of the most remarkable sagas of the space age.

Venus Express has completed an 'aerodrag' campaign that used its solar wings as sails to catch faint wisps of the planet’s atmosphere. The test used the orbiter as an exquisitely accurate sensor to measure atmospheric density barely 180 km above the hot planet.

Herschel’s latest image reveals the formation of previously unseen large stars, each one up to ten times the mass of our Sun. These are the stars that will influence where and how the next generation of stars are formed. The image is a new release of ‘OSHI’, ESA’s Online Showcase of Herschel Images.

ESA’s Venus Express has returned the clearest indication yet that Venus is still geologically active. Relatively young lava flows have been identified by the way they emit infrared radiation. The finding suggests the planet remains capable of volcanic eruptions.

After the most profound lull in solar activity for nearly a century, the Sun is finally coming back to life. But will the solar activity return to previous levels? ESA’s venerable solar watchdog SOHO is there, watching and measuring, providing unique information about our nearest star.

A comprehensive analysis of distorted galaxies from the most ambitious cosmic survey ever undertaken by the Hubble Space Telescope has confirmed the mysterious cosmic acceleration. It has also provided the equivalent of a 3D map of part of the Universe.