ESA Explores – ESA missions return to science

After a brief shutdown of science instruments and a period in ‘safe standby’, ESA’s planetary missions are getting back to what they do best – gathering science data from around the Solar System.

 

Paolo Ferri, Head of Mission Operations at ESA’s mission control centre in Germany, and Markus Kissler-Patig, Head of Science and Operations at the Agency’s ESAC Astronomy Centre in Spain discuss the extraordinary and challenging times facing teams on the ground, the return to science for four key missions, and what it's like to make key decisions about the safety of their workforce and Europe’s fleet of space explorers in light of a global pandemic.

 

This podcast episode was originally released in April 2020.