It sounds like the ESA’s Jules Verne ATV is doing just ducky. Even if I can’t find much more information on how it is doing. You’d think the ESA would be all over that, but I guess Europe doesn’t like to brag? (Or keep people informed?) Granted, it isn’t slated to deliver its goods (vital supplies including dry cargo, propellant for the Russian Zvezda module, drinking water and 21kg of oxygen) until the 3rd of April. Still… Anyway, for a nice flash animation of the Jules Verne ATV mission, head on over to the ESA’s webpage here.

And in related news, NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour, a veteran of space travel, has officially launched on mission STS-123.

This mission is bringing up new crew and cargo including mission 1J/A for Japan which is bringing up Experiment Logistics Module -Pressurized Section (ELM-PS), the first piece of JAXA’s Kibo module. Also onboard the Endeavour is the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (aka Dextre), the final piece of CSA’s “Space Station Remote Manipulator System” (aka Canadarm2). And of course let us not forget the brave astronauts (pictured here) of NASA mission STS-123, Navy Capt. Dominic L. Gorie (commander), Air Force Col. Gregory H. Johnson (pilot), Richard M. Linnehan, Air Force Maj. Robert L. Behnken, Navy Capt. Michael J. Foreman and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takao Doi. It’s the first time up for Johnson, Behnken and Foreman, so let’s wish them the best of luck!

Japan’s Kibo is planned to become the largest experiment module onboard the ISS. Kibo will include the world’s largest wide-angle X-ray camera to snap wonderful new pictures of beyond our galaxy. The remaining parts of Kibo are planned to be brought up on shuttle missions STS-124 and STS-127.

Canada’s Canadarm2 is designed to make the life much easier for the astronauts on the International Space Station as its highly dexterous robotic arms will allow the astronauts to remain safely indoors while performing delicate work that, so far, could only be accomplished by astronauts during spacewalk activities. This should make a whole lot of people happier to no longer have so many long and potentially deadly spacewalks.

So how cool is that? Europe, Russia, the USA, Japan, and Canada are all involved in ISS missions around the same time! It just makes you want to hold hands across the world and sing Kumbaya.