SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites) are free floating satellites designed by MIT on the ISS which, via the setting of a game called AsteroSPHERES, can be commanded by teams of secondary school students. The teams shall compete against each other in multiple simulation phases on ground and the most successful teams shall have the opportunity to see their code in action on the ISS, live!  This video is a recording of the web streaming event which officially launched the ZeroRobotics AsteroSPHERES game in Europe for the very first time.

Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the Space Station on Monday morning at 03:55 GMT after being docked to the orbital outpost for almost 12 days. The STS-134 mission will end on Wednesday at 06:32 GMT with a landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission's main task was accomplished on 19 May, when the AMS-02 Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer cosmic-ray detector was attached to the S3 truss in a carefully choreographed operation of the Shuttle and Station robot arms.

ESA's Roberto Vittori was at the arm controls in Endeavour with Drew Feustel, while the other arm was controlled from the Station's Cupola by Gregory Johnson and Gregory Chamitoff.

Following three hours of zero-gravity ballet, AMS-02 was firmly attached and all the power and data lines connected.

After installing AMS, the Shuttle astronauts made two spacewalks to retrieve external experiments and attach new ones. They also added an antenna on the Destiny laboratory for external wireless communications.

Last Monday evening, the crews bade farewell to three Expedition 27 colleagues, including ESA's Paolo Nespoli, who returned to Earth after 159 days in space.

The Shuttle astronauts then performed two more spacewalks. They installed a grapple fixture for a robotic arm on the Zarya module and upgraded the power feed to the Station's Russian section. They also repaired the thermal insulation on one of the spare gas tanks of the Quest airlock.

The instrument almost immediately began recording data and captured its first cosmic rays the next day.

ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli landed back on Earth this morning to conclude his 159-day mission to the International Space Station. Paolo had been serving as the flight engineer for Expeditions 26 and 27 since December.

Paolo's MagISStra mission, the third long mission by a European astronaut on the Station, came to end at 04:27 CEST (02:27 GMT) on the steppes of Kazakhstan as the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft fired its retrorockets for a soft landing. Paolo and crewmates Dmitri Kondratyev and Catherine Coleman boarded the Soyuz on Monday night and undocked from the Station's nadir Rassvet port at 23:35 CEST (21:35 GMT).

During more than five months in space, Paolo carried out an extensive research programme, ranging from nutritional tests and medical experiments to radiation monitoring and trying to understand the convective pattern generated in a fluid confined in a sphere %u2013 like lava under Earth's crust.

Paolo also harvested numerous samples to be brought back to Earth by Space Shuttle and Soyuz.

His stay aboard the Station has been a particularly busy one. He participated in the docking of two cargo spacecraft: Europe's second Automated Transfer Vehicle, Johannes Kepler, in February, and the second Japanese HII Transfer Vehicle in January.

Space Shuttle Discovery visited the Station in late February and early March, delivering the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, which was left attached to the outpost. Discovery's cargo included spares and the Robonaut humanoid robot.

Shuttle Endeavour docked just last week, bringing another Italian, ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori. This is the first time that two Italians were aboard the Station at the same time.

Paolo's descent also marked the first time that a Soyuz spacecraft departed with a Shuttle still docked to the Station.

ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) for a long-duration mission on 15 December 2010, serving as flight engineer for Expeditions 26 and 27. This is the third six-month mission by a European astronaut on the Station.

Paolo's MagISStra mission came to end on 24 May 2011 at 04:27 CEST (02:27 GMT) on the steppes of Kazakhstan as the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft fired its retrorockets for a soft landing. His stay aboard the Station has been a particularly busy one.

He participated in the docking of two cargo spacecraft: Europe's second Automated Transfer Vehicle, Johannes Kepler, in February, and the second Japanese HII Transfer Vehicle in January. He also welcomed crews from Soyuz TMA-21, STS-133 and STS-134 DAMA Mission, that included ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori.

DAMA mission ended on 1 June 2011, at 6:35 GMT, after a 16-day mission that added the pioneering experiment AMS-02 to the International Space Station.

ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli has come back to Earth with his crew mates Dimitri Kondratiev and Cady Coleman in a Soyuz capsule landing in the desert of Kazakhstan on 24 May 2011.

This marks the end of the third ESA long duration mission aboard the International Space Station.

Launched from Baikonur last 15 December Paolo Nespoli conducted scientific experiments and participated in the very busy activities in and around the ISS.

This video recalls these past months in space for the ESA astronaut.

Space Shuttle Endeavour arrived at the International Space Station on 18 May 2011 at 12:14 CEST (10:14 GMT) after chasing it in space following launch two days earllier. The 12 astronauts are now working together.

The hatches between the Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS) were opened at 13:38 CEST after leak tests.

ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori and his five crewmates floated into the Station at 14:36 CEST, where they were welcomed by the Expedition 27 crew, including another of ESA's Italian astronauts, Paolo Nespoli.

Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off on her last mission to the International Space Station. The STS-134 mission was launched at 12:56 GMT (14:56 CEST) on 16 May 2011.

Roberto's mission is named DAMA in reference to the search for the mysterious dark matter that will be conducted by the 6.9-tonne fundamental physics payload, the AMS-02 Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, probably the most ambitious science payload ever launched to the Station.

On her official visit to the Netherlands on 3 May, the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, included a visit to ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centere (ESTEC). She was warmly welcomed by ESA Directors and Irish staff working on site.

Mary McAleese was welcomed by Franco Ongaro, Head of Establishment at ESTEC and Director of Technical and Quality Management (D/TEC), and Directors Magali Vaissière (D/TIA) and Thomas Reiter (D/HSO), who gave a general presentation of ESA and highlighted Irish involvement. Franco Ongaro said that, "Ireland is among our founding Member States, and as such is involved in strategic decisions, in the implementation of Agency programmes and activities and in the way the Agency and the European Space Policy will evolve in the future."

During her brief visit, the President was taken on a tour of the Concurrent Design Facility (CDF), the Test Centre and the Erasmus Centre. Thomas Reiter also showed her a training model of the Columbus module of the ISS.

Towards the end of the visit, the President greeted the 40 Irish staff and contractors working at ESTEC and concluded by saying, "I am impressed with what I have seen, and you should all be very proud of what you do to prepare the future for our children and grandchildren."

The President and her husband Dr McAleese then signed ESA's golden book and wrote, "Take us all with you on your journey to the future!"

After eight weeks of exercises and classroom activities, 4000 children from more than 25 cities worldwide concluded their Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut' challenge that promotes healthy nutrition and regular exercise.

Mission X has helped pupils aged 8-12 years to understand the importance of staying fit for astronauts and children alike, in space as on Earth.

The efforts and the enthusiasm of the competing teams are highlighted by the hundreds of pictures, videos and texts that teachers have posted on the Mission X website here.

An inflight call took place on 12 April 2011 with the ISS Expedition 27 crew and Euronews iTalk.

The focus of this week's i-talk, Euronews' new programme presented by %u201CMr. Europe%u201D Alex Taylor, is the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's trip to space %u2013 the first ever manned space-travel.

Answering the viewers' questions are the International Space Station's current occupants: commander Dimitri Kondratyev, flight engineer Katie Colman, Paulo Nespoli, Andrei Samokutyaev, Ron Garan and Andrey Borisenko.

Find out how their experience is contributing to medical research, whether space tourism is just round the corner, and what happens to the human body when you spend time in space.

The Mission X inflight call which took place at The European Astronaut Centre on 30 March 2011 in English.

After eight weeks of exercises and classroom activities, 4000 children from more than 25 cities worldwide are about to conclude their Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut' challenge that promotes healthy nutrition and regular exercise.

Acrobatic space somersaults and climbing martian mountains are some of the fun activities %u2013 inspired by astronaut training %u2013 performed by children and teachers from Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom and the USA.

Eighty-five lucky German children, representing their young European colleagues, were invited to the European Astronaut Centre, in Cologne, Germany, from where they asked the questions provided by all participating children to Paolo Nespoli and Catherine Coleman onboard the ISS on 30 March 2011.

After eight weeks of exercises and classroom activities, 4000 children from more than 25 cities worldwide are about to conclude their Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut' challenge that promotes healthy nutrition and regular exercise.

Acrobatic space somersaults and climbing martian mountains are some of the fun activities %u2013 inspired by astronaut training %u2013 performed by children and teachers from Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom and the USA.

Eighty-five lucky German children, representing their young European colleagues, were invited to the European Astronaut Centre, in Cologne, Germany, from where they asked the questions provided by all participating children to Paolo Nespoli and Catherine Coleman onboard the ISS on 30 March 2011.

This is a video of the entire closing cermony which was in the German language.  The Inflight Call with the ISS is in English.