Het ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken scherpte deze week het reisadvies voor landen in het Midden-Oosten aan. Voor reizigers die eventueel stranden maakt het veel uit of ze zelf hebben geboekt of een pakketreis via een organisatie.

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

Nestled in the centre of an electronic circuit board lies a miniature black chip. Tiny but mighty, this microchip can steer radio beams – a capability essential for the development of phased array antennas.

While traditional antennas rely on mechanical tilting to maintain contact with their target, phased array antennas enable satellites and ground terminals to communicate without any moving parts.

Instead of mechanically rotating the antenna dish, specialised microchips at the heart of phased array antennas steer radio beams electronically by precisely controlling the signal’s phase and amplitude through a process called beamforming.

With the advent of modern silicon semiconductor technologies, these microchips – known as beamforming integrated circuits – became smaller, which in turn made phased array antennas more compact, reliable and affordable enough for widespread use in applications ranging from satellite communications and navigation to Earth observation and space missions.

“For decades, ESA has been at the forefront of beamforming technology, exploring innovative ways to electronically steer radio beams for space and terrestrial applications,” says Václav Valenta, ESA’s engineer and phased array expert.

“Today, the focus is increasingly shifting towards highly integrated analogue and digital beamforming chips both designed and manufactured in Europe. These developments combine cutting-edge performance with the strategic advantage of a secure European supply chain.”

In a recent technology demonstration at ESA’s RF Active Technology Laboratory at ESTEC, the French company Asygn presented their new generation of beamforming integrated circuits.

To highlight the level of control Asygn’s microchip has over beamforming, the company engineers have presented a visually striking addition to their showcase: the blue-and-white ESA logo composed of hundreds of dots, each individually positioned through a specific amplitude and phase setting of the beamformer.

“By designing single-chip solutions dedicated to specific frequency bands – notably X and Ka – we achieve the very high levels of performance required for mission-critical satellite communication applications,” adds Clement Jany, Radio Frequency business unit co-director at Asygn. “Our objective is to simplify system integration for phased array antenna manufacturers by delivering high-precision phase and amplitude control and an ultra-low noise figure on a single chip.”

[Image description: A close-up photograph of a square electronic test board connected to multiple black and yellow cables through gold-coloured connectors. Fine gold lines spread from a microchip in the centre across the dark surface of the board. In the background, laboratory test equipment is visible, with a blurred monitor displaying the blue-and-white ESA logo.]

Credits: ESA - SJM Photography

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

This view of Xingu Indigenous Park and surrounding area, in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil, shows the above-ground biomass (AGB) increases and decreases between 2005 and 2024 (right). Biomass information is derived from ESA’s Climate Change Initiative Biomass initiative. Disturbance and regrowth information was interpreted from the Joint Research Council Tropical Moist Forest product (JRC-TMF).

Areas with decreased above-ground biomass (shown in red) have lost organic matter such as tree branches, trunks and vegetation, through processes such as wildfires or selective logging, thereby releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Area showing loss of biomass are circled near the centre and at the top-right of the image.

Areas with increased above-ground biomass (shown in yellow) have, on the other hand, undergone regrowth and regeneration, thereby capturing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it within organic material. One area with notable biomass increase is circled on the far-right of the image.

At the top-left of the image, there is an area of undisturbed forest with natural above-ground biomass fluctuations.

The Xingu Indigenous Park is indigenous territory in the Brazilian Amazon. It was first created in 1961 as a national park to protect the environment and Xingu Indigenous peoples in the area.

Read full story

Credits: ESA (data sources: Copernicus Sentinel-2; Heinrich et al, 2026).

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

This view of Xingu Indigenous Park and surrounding area, in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil, shows the above-ground biomass (AGB) increases and decreases between 2005 and 2024 (right). Biomass information is derived from ESA’s Climate Change Initiative Biomass initiative. Disturbance and regrowth information was interpreted from the Joint Research Council Tropical Moist Forest product (JRC-TMF).

Areas with decreased above-ground biomass (shown in red) have lost organic matter such as tree branches, trunks and vegetation, through processes such as wildfires or selective logging, thereby releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Area showing loss of biomass are circled near the centre and at the top-right of the image.

Areas with increased above-ground biomass (shown in yellow) have, on the other hand, undergone regrowth and regeneration, thereby capturing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it within organic material. One area with notable biomass increase is circled on the far-right of the image.

At the top-left of the image, there is an area of undisturbed forest with natural above-ground biomass fluctuations.

The Xingu Indigenous Park is indigenous territory in the Brazilian Amazon. It was first created in 1961 as a national park to protect the environment and Xingu Indigenous peoples in the area.

Read full story

Credits: ESA (data sources: Copernicus Sentinel-2; Heinrich et al, 2026).

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

Image of the Perito Moreno National Park in Argentina captured by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot from the International Space Station.

Follow Sophie’s mission on the εpsilon page and on her social media platforms, such as X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Credits: ESA/NASA – S. Adenot

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

This picture was published as part of a set on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, with the following caption:

Day 157, orbit 2435 — The Moon has forever inspired, comforted and sparked curiosity. Fifty-seven years ago, the Apollo 11 crew took humanity's first steps on its surface. As we prepare to return and build a sustainable presence on its surface, the Moon is becoming the stepping stone for humanity's next great adventures in space. Go Artemis!

Follow Sophie’s mission on the εpsilon page and on her social media platforms, such as X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Credits: ESA/NASA – S. Adenot

• Italy have failed to qualify for last three World Cups

• Guardiola is out of work while Ancelotti is still with Brazil

The Italian football federation (FIGC) has talked to Pep Guardiola, the former Manchester City coach, and Carlo Ancelotti, the Brazil manager, about taking over the crisis-hit national team.

It hopes to announce the new Italy coach within the week, with the Azzurri still reeling after failing for a third straight time to qualify for the World Cup.

The Guardian’s parliamentary sketch writer imagines Nigel Farage’s right-hand man’s thinking behind his book, How to Launder Money

Anti-money-laundering laws are supposed to stop the illicit flow of money. So far, they seem to have stopped next to nothing. About 5% of the global economy is illicit and only 0.05% is stopped by AML laws.

Which makes me, George, something of a rarity. The idiot member of the 1% who actually got done for conspiring to launder money. Just think, while 99% of criminals were getting away with it, I had the bright idea of telling an audience of undercover members of the US Inland Revenue Service in Las Vegas how I could clean up their drug money for them. Much to my surprise, they didn’t take me up on my offer. I was arrested on money-laundering charges at Chicago airport. Still, I did a plea bargain and the charges were reduced to wire fraud and I did eight months in prison. So no harm done.