The two telescopes are due to go into space onboard the Arianne V rocket launch, from French Guyana, on May 14th. Planck, a telescope whose internal instrumentation will be kept only three degrees above absolute zero, will focus on tracking the "fossilized" radiation remaining from the Big Bang, while Herschel will look at infrared radiation in areas where stars and galaxies are still forming, something that excites Professor Matt Griffin of Cardiff University:

The results could reveal how stars like the Sun are forming in our own galaxy today, how the galaxies grew and evolved over cosmic time, and how planetary systems can develop from the dust and gas around young stars.

He'll have to wait for the results, however; although the telescopes launch in little over a week, the first data from them isn't expected for approximately six months.

Telescopes that could see the future [Independent.co.uk]

Tardigrades have perfected an extreme form of hibernation called an anhydrobiotic state, meaning roughly that they can expel all of the water from their cells and go into a state of suspended animation. They usually only live for about a month when left in an active state, but once they dry themselves out, they can survive the harshest conditions the world can throw at them for decades on end.

Evolving to live through cold and drought makes sense — these types of conditions occur all the time on Earth. But extreme radiation? Vacuum? Some scientists believe these traits are just a byproduct of their hibernation, but in truth it remains a mystery.

Are tardigrades aliens from a distant world who came to Earth on an asteroid? Probably not — they're genetically related to the well known worm c. elegans. But last fall, the European Space Agency sent the little guys into orbit as part of the BioPan-6 mission to see how well they'd do floating above their homeworld, exposed to outer space. We're still waiting on the results of those experiments, which hopefully will shed light on why these mysterious little creatures evolved to become the toughest life on the planet.

Photo: Brett's Blog

The ESA's new program Fly Your Thesis! - Yes, the exclamation point is part of the name - has been set up as part of the collective European effort to hothouse today's youth into becoming superscientists who will enable EU domination of the world by 2015. Or, alternatively, just to get them interested in science as a career:

This exciting programme will enable university students to fly their experiments in microgravity by participating in a series of parabolic flights on an Airbus A300 Zero-G aircraft.

“Fly Your Thesis!” requires each team of students to design a scientific experiment to be performed in microgravity, as part of their Masters thesis, PhD thesis or research programme. Teams should register on ESA Education’s Project Portal and upload their outline proposals using the Letter of Intent template, by the deadline of 31 August 2008.

And should you pass the entrance examination, it's not just the zero gravity experience that awaits you; it's also the collective brains of Europe:

[T]hree or four teams will be selected to further develop and perform their experiment on an ESA Microgravity Research Campaign that will take place in Bordeaux, France, during the autumn of 2009. There, the student teams will work in close contact with renowned European Scientists carrying out their own research.

It's like SpaceCamp but more gallic, isn't it?

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMYPQUG3HF_index_0.html

ESA scientists are currently testing intermetallic materials, combinations of metal similar to alloys in which two or more metals are diffused together on a molecular level. Titanium aluminide is an intermetal that could cut the weight of fan blades in jet engines by half. Unfortunately, titanium aluminide tends to fail under high temperatures. This can be solved by introducing small amounts of other materials, such as niobium. In Earth gravity, weight differences between the different metals makes it difficult to get them to diffuse properly.

Small-scale tests in rockets have shown that zero-g solves many of the issues with intermetallic production. The ESA will run larger tests over longer periods of time in the new Columbus science module on the ISS. These space metals could revolutionize the aerospace industry. Photo by: NASA.

'Space metals' aid perfection quest. [BBC]

The ESA's ATV is fully automated. When it gets close to the ISS, the entire docking procedure is handled by computers using GPS, optical sensors and an off-board laser range-finder. Once it is docked, astronauts can enter the cargo bay directly from the main ISS modules and retrieve supplies without ever putting on a space suit. It will remain docked for several months, during which time it will be emptied of supplies and then gradually filled with waste and garbage (liquid and solid).

When it's time for another cargo vehicle to dock with the ISS, the Jules Verne will undock and head into a steep re-entry over the Pacific Ocean, burning up when it hits the atmosphere. The ESA has plans for another six expendable cargo vehicles - it would be cool if they named them all after classic sci-fi authors. The Jules Verne carried two rare manuscripts by the groundbreaking writer, which will be kept on the ISS. Photo by: ESA.

Impressive dress-rehearsal for Jules Verne ATV. [ESA]

Scientists began to suspect a global ocean when they saw some landmarks on Titan had shifted up to 19 miles between October 2004 and May 2007. The best explanation is a vast ocean, separating the planet's icy crust from its rocky center. The Cassini Space probe will fly within 620 miles of Titan, sample the atmosphere, and take pictures of the site where the Huygens probe landed.