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Week in images: 24-28 February 2025

Discover our week through the lens

Due to further operations needed on a ground means interfacing with the launcher, the launch is postponed. The new launch date will be announced following the completion of these operations. Ariane 6 and its passenger, the CSO-3 satellite, are in stable and safe conditions.

The first metal 3D part ever created on orbit has landed on Earth. 

The sample was produced in ESA’s Metal 3D Printer on the International Space Station. Now, it’s on Earth for the first time, at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands (ESTEC). 

The printer, developed by Airbus and its partners, was installed in the Columbus module by ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen during his Huginn mission in January 2024. In June, the facility succeeded in making its first print, a curvy line in the shape of an 'S’. In summer, the printer produced its first full sample, and then a second sample in December. 

This first sample will now be tested in the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory at ESTEC and compared to samples printed on Earth to understand how microgravity affects the printing process. 

The second sample will be handed over to the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). 

While astronauts have operated plastic 3D printers on the International Space Station before, this marks the first successful metal printing on orbit. As missions venture farther from Earth, in-space manufacturing will be crucial for self-sufficiency, allowing astronauts to manufacture essential parts, repair equipment and create tools on demand, without relying on costly resupply missions. 

The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will drill deeper than any other mission has ever attempted on the Red Planet.

The third episode in the series shows how the rover will extract, collect and analyse martian samples in a high-fidelity simulation.

Rosalind Franklin will be the first rover to reach a depth of up to two metres deep below the surface, acquiring samples that have been protected from harsh fsurface radiation and extreme temperatures.

The drill system combines multiple precission mechanisms in an intricate automated sequence. It uses three extension rods that connect tor form a two-metre “drill string”.

As the rover drills, it will simultaneously investigate the borehole using infrared spectroscopy to study mineral composition.

The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission is part of Europe’s ambitious exploration journey to search for past and present signs of life on Mars.

For the latest mission updates, visit ESA’s ExoMars website and our FAQ section.

Watch all the videos from the ExoMars Rosalind Frankin mission series.

Access the related broadcast quality video material.

The Red Planet’s iconic rusty dust has a much wetter history than previously assumed, find scientists combining European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA spacecraft data with new laboratory experiments on replica Mars dust. The results suggest that Mars rusted early in the planet’s ancient past, when liquid water was more widespread.

The latest analysis from the European Space Agency (ESA) Planetary Defence Office has reduced the probability that asteroid 2024 YR4 might impact Earth in 2032 to 0.001%.