Tentatively set for a July 2003 launch, the Smart-1 spacecraft will host Europe's first lunar mission. A news article from the BBC outlines the objectives of this pioneering mission. The Smart-1 is incorporating many new technologies and testing them for the first time in space. One of the most notable is the ion thruster, but several other novel items used in the Smart-1, if successful, will end...

Europe reclaims a stake in Mars exploration! The European Space Agency has launched this informative site in conjunction with the Mars Express mission which lifted off on June 3, 2003. Before the live Webcast of the craft arrival in December, 2003, visitors to this well organized site can track the progress of the spacecraft. You can also learn a lot about early attempts to explore mars and...

The European Space Agencies (ESA) Microgravity Database "gives scientists access to information regarding all experiments carried out on ESA and NASA missions by European scientists since the 1960s." Users choose from a physical or life sciences query form, then can search by experiment and investigators, mission and facility, publications and source, and more. Results provide the mission name,...