Space News & Blog Articles

Tune into the SpaceZE News Network to stay updated on industry news from around the world.

ESA and JAXA advance potential Apophis mission collaboration

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has requested funding to participate in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses).

  56 Hits

Webb investigates complex heart of a cosmic butterfly

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has revealed new details in the core of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. From the dense, dusty torus that surrounds the star hidden at the centre of the nebula to its outflowing jets, the Webb observations reveal many new discoveries that paint a never-before-seen portrait of a dynamic and structured planetary nebula.

  61 Hits

Gaia proves our skies are filled with chains of starry gatherings

In the past decade, the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission has revealed the nature, history, and behaviour of billions of stars. Our pioneering stargazer has reshaped our view of the skies around us like no other, revealing that star clusters are more connected than expected over vast distances.

  99 Hits

ESA data records help underpin climate change report

According to the newly released 35th State of the Climate report, 2024 saw record highs in greenhouse gas concentrations, global land and ocean temperatures, sea levels, and ocean heat content. Glaciers also suffered their largest annual ice loss on record. Data records from ESA’s Climate Change Initiative helped underpin these findings.

  54 Hits

Juice team resolves anomaly on approach to Venus

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) is on track for its gravity-assist flyby at Venus on 31 August, following the successful resolution of a spacecraft communication anomaly that temporarily severed contact with Earth.

Continue reading
  62 Hits

Week in images: 18-22 August 2025

Week in images: 18-22 August 2025

Continue reading
  58 Hits

Iberian wildfires seen from space

Southern Europe is once again in the grip of extreme summer heat. Soaring temperatures and bone-dry land have fuelled widespread wildfires, with the Iberian Peninsula among the regions hardest hit. Flames continue to sweep across parched landscapes, as these images show.

  100 Hits

ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite adds power to forecasts

  73 Hits

Week in images: 11-15 August 2025

Week in images: 11-15 August 2025

Continue reading
  64 Hits

FLEX instrument meets its satellite

Image: The development of ESA’s Earth Explorer FLEX mission has recently passed a significant milestone: the mission’s all-important instrument has been joined to its satellite platform.

  113 Hits

MetOp-SG-A1 and Sentinel-5: from cleanroom to space

Video: 00:04:21

Europe’s first MetOp Second Generation, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite – which hosts the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission –  has launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from the European spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 13 August at 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 Kourou time).

Continue reading
  124 Hits

No Earth-like atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1 d

The exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 d intrigues astronomers looking for possibly habitable worlds beyond our solar system because it is similar in size to Earth, rocky, and resides in an area around its star where liquid water on its surface is theoretically possible. But according to a new study using data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, it does not have an Earth-like atmosphere.

  71 Hits

Tracking the climate-driven shift in Antarctic plankton from space

Combining 25 years of space-based data with ocean sampling, scientists have uncovered a change in the microscopic organisms that underpin the Southern Ocean’s food chain and carbon storage.

  87 Hits

MetOp-SG-A1 and Sentinel-5 launch highlights

Video: 00:01:36

Europe’s first MetOp Second Generation, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite – which hosts the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission –  has launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 13 August at 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 Kourou time).

Continue reading
  72 Hits

First MetOp-SG and Sentinel-5 launched

Ushering in a new era of weather and climate monitoring from polar orbit, the first in a new series of satellites, MetOp Second Generation, has been lofted into orbit aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. As part of this new satellite’s sophisticated instrument package is the new Copernicus Sentinel-5 instrument, which is designed to deliver critical data on air pollutants, ozone and climate-related gases.

  76 Hits

MetOp-SG-A1 and Sentinel-5 launch on Ariane 6

Video: 00:01:20

Europe’s first MetOp Second Generation, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite – which hosts the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission –  has launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 13 August at 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 Kourou time).

Continue reading
  71 Hits

CREAM: avoiding collisions in space through automation

Earth orbit is becoming increasingly crowded. With over 11 000 active satellites and many thousands more expected in the coming years as well as over 1.2 million pieces of space debris greater than 1 cm, the risk of in-orbit collisions has turned into a daily operational concern. ESA is investing in automation technologies that can help satellite operators respond more effectively to collision risks.

  78 Hits

Behind the scenes with MetOp-SG and Sentinel-5

Video: 00:01:45

Experience the preparation of the MetOp-SG-A1 satellite, hosting Copernicus Sentinel-5, scheduled for liftoff on an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 13 August 2025 at 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 Kourou time). This timelapse video captures key stages from the encapsulation within the Ariane 6 fairing to the installation in the launch tower.

Continue reading
  126 Hits

Week in images: 04-08 August 2025

Week in images: 04-08 August 2025

Continue reading
  104 Hits

Human minds, robotic hands

Video: 00:05:33

Last July, a team of robots explored a simulated martian landscape in Germany, guided by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. This was the final session of the Surface Avatar experiment, a joint initiative between ESA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to investigate how astronauts can remotely control robotic teams.

Continue reading
  85 Hits

Hubble sizes up rare interstellar comet

Image:

A team of astronomers has taken the sharpest-ever picture of the unexpected interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, using the crisp vision of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Continue reading
  104 Hits

SpaceZE.com