Space News & Blog Articles

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Space activities are unlike any others. They interact not just with Earth, but with three interconnected environments: Earth, Earth’s orbit, and the Moon and deep space. On Earth, we aim to reduce the space sector’s environmental impacts while maximising the societal and environmental benefits of our missions. In orbit, we manage space debris and collision risks to maintain safe and secure operations. For the Moon and deep space, we are laying the foundations to minimise the impact of our missions on and around other celestial bodies.

When satellites eventually fall back down to Earth, they mostly burn up because of the friction caused by the atmosphere. Scientific data about this atmospheric reentry process is urgently needed to design future satellites for a quick, safe and sustainable demise at the end of their mission – reducing risks on the ground and in space.

The 2026 ESA Graduate Trainee positions are now open! If you’re passionate about engineering, science, IT or business, this is your chance to turn your dreams into reality.

Week in images: 26-30 January 2026

A study on tectonic plates that converge on the Tibetan Plateau has shown that Earth’s fault lines are far weaker and the continents are less rigid than scientists previously thought. This finding is based on ground-monitoring satellite data.

Press Release N° 5–2026

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over part of the coastal area of Rudong County on China’s eastern seaboard.

The crew of four will launch no earlier than Wednesday 11 February at 11:00 GMT/12:00 CET (06:00 EST) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA. The next available opportunities are Thursday 12 February at 10:38 GMT/11:38 CET (05:38 EST) and Friday 13 February at 10:15 GMT/11:15 CET (05:15 EST).  

Two days of intense discussions and exchanges came to an end at the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels on Wednesday.

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Watch the keynote address by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher on the second day of the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels.

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Watch the keynote address by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher at the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels.

A team of astronomers have used a new AI-assisted method to search for rare astronomical objects in the Hubble Legacy Archive. The team sifted through nearly 100 million image cutouts in just two and a half days, uncovering nearly 1400 anomalous objects, more than 800 of which had never been documented before.

The European Space Agency discussed plans for its record budget as the 18th European Space Conference began in Brussels, Belgium on 27 January.

The first images from the Meteosat Third Generation-Sounder satellite have been shared at the European Space Conference in Brussels, showing how the mission will provide data on temperature and humidity, for more accurate weather forecasting over Europe and northern Africa.

The European Space Agency’s innovative Biomass satellite is now fully commissioned, opening free access to a powerful new stream of data that promise a step change in our understanding of forest dynamics and their role in regulating the global carbon cycle.

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On 17 January, the Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft were rolled out from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to Launch Pad 39B. The 6.5-km journey took around 12 hours and was carried out using NASA's crawler-transporter, which has been moving rockets to launch pads for over 50 years.

Week in images: 19-23 January 2026

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ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski captured these stunning timelapse videos during his 20-day stay aboard the International Space Station as part of Axiom Mission 4, known as Ignis. Filmed from the Cupola – the Space Station’s iconic seven-windowed observation module – the footage showcases breathtaking views of Earth and the Moon from orbit.

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us at the Brazilian-Bolivian border over part of the Pantanal region, a unique ecosystem, home to an impressive variety of plants and wildlife.

Already recognised for its excellence and even adopted for operational weather forecasting, the European Space Agency’s Arctic Weather Satellite has now fulfilled its most important role. This small prototype mission has succeeded in paving the way for a new constellation of similar satellites, known as EPS-Sterna.

Image: A celebrity cluster in the spotlight