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Watch the one-to-one interview with Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), extracted from Plenary 1 of the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2025). In this session, he shares his insights into ESA's strategic vision.
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has provided the first direct measurements of the chemical and physical properties of a potential moon-forming disc encircling a large exoplanet. The carbon-rich disc surrounding the world called CT Cha B, which is located 625 light years away from Earth, is a possible construction yard for moons, although no moons are detected in the Webb data. The disc offers insight into how the moons of Solar System gas giants like Jupiter might have formed.
Image: Part of the icy landscape of the Northeast Greenland National Park, the largest national park in the world, is pictured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is participating in the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), which will open its doors on Monday 29 September and last until Friday 3 October in Sydney, Australia. Over 8000 participants from 90 countries are expected to attend the event at the at the International Convention Centre (ICC) under the theme “Sustainable Space: Resilient Earth”.
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a colourful array of massive stars and glowing cosmic dust in the Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) molecular cloud, the most massive and active star-forming region in our Milky Way galaxy.
After meticulous preparation and rigorous evaluation, ESA’s Member States have selected WIVERN to become the 11th Earth Explorer mission to be implemented through the agency’s prestigious FutureEO programme.
Hidden beneath the biggest ice mass on Earth, hundreds of subglacial lakes form a crucial part of Antarctica’s icy structure, affecting the movement and stability of glaciers, and consequentially influencing global sea level rise.
Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures a cloud-free view over the island of Komodo in southeastern Indonesia.
The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) has revealed an unexpected difference between the powerful winds launching from a disc around a neutron star and those from material circling supermassive black holes. The surprisingly dense wind blowing from the stellar system challenges our understanding of how such winds form and drive change in their surroundings.
Scientists created the most accurate three-dimensional map of star-formation regions in our Milky Way galaxy, based on data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope. This map will teach us more about these obscure cloudy areas, and the hot young stars that shape them.
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An essential part of ESA’s Space Safety programme is dedicated to getting and keeping Earth’s orbits clean from space debris. In the long run, the Agency aspires to stimulate a true circular economy in space, minimising the impact of spaceflight on Earth and its resources where possible. As part of ESA’s Zero Debris approach, new ESA missions will be designed for safe operations and disposal to stop the creation of new debris by 2030.
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Group photo taken at the General Assembly on Defence, Space and Cybersecurity, held on Friday 12 September 2025, at ESRIN, ESA’s Centre for Earth Observation Programmes in Italy.
Image: Part of the Gibson Desert in Western Australia is featured in this image, captured by the Φsat-2 mission in June 2025.
The fourth satellite for the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, Sentinel-1D, has arrived at Félix Eboué airport, the main airport in French Guiana. From there the spacecraft, safely stored in its protective casing, will be transported to launch preparation facilities at the European Spaceport in Kourou.
The European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft has safely arrived at ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands. There, engineers will complete the spacecraft by connecting its solar panels and sunshield, and carry out a series of critical tests to confirm that Plato is fit for launch and ready for its planet-hunting mission in space.
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