Space News & Blog Articles

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Government ministers representing ESA’s Member States, Associate States and Cooperating States met for a Council meeting on 6 November 2023 during the Space Summit in Seville, Spain. They resolved together to strengthen Europe’s space ambitions to better serve European citizens. At the same time, ESA will open a new era of modernising the implementation of its programmes, responding to growing commercialisation and privatisation of space activities, in particular in the fields of space transportation and space exploration. The opening of the meeting was followed by an introduction by ESA Director General and statements by Member, Associate and Cooperating States and observers.

ESA and the European Commission are joining forces to accelerate the use of Earth-observing satellites and the information they provide to address the pressing challenge of climate change.

The role that space can play in a greener future for us all is high on the agenda at today's ESA Space Summit. A new ‘green dossier’ to be released alongside the event in Seville on 6-7 November showcases how ESA’s flagship business-to-business programme is fuelling an unprecedented growth in green and sustainable space-enabled commercial activities to address the challenges of climate change.

Week in images: 30 October - 03 November 2023

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Never before has a telescope been able to create such razor-sharp astronomical images across such a large patch of the sky.

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo, the largest natural body of water in South America.

At the Space Summit on 6 November 2023, Ministers of ESA’s Member States will raise Europe’s ambition to drive forward space for a green future, take decisive steps in exploration, and ensure Europe’s access to space, while preparing a paradigm shift towards a more competitive next generation of launchers.

Image: The future’s magnetic pull

The 2024 internship opportunities at ESA have been published! Applications are open for one month and positions are available in engineering, science, IT, natural/social sciences, business, economics and administration services. This is your chance to kick-off your career in the space sector!

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ESA’s Euclid mission is on a quest to unveil the nature of two elusive ‘dark’ entities. As the renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking remarked in 2013, “The missing link in cosmology is the nature of dark matter and dark energy”.

ESA is releasing the first full-colour images of the cosmos captured by its recently launched space telescope Euclid. Follow live a broadcast of the reveal on Tuesday 7 November at 13:15 GMT / 14:15 CET.

Image: What’s spookier than the ‘largest acid cauldron on Earth?’ In East Java, Indonesia, lies the Kawah Ijen Crater Lake – the world’s largest acidic lake, a chilling spectacle perfect for Halloween.

Although the Crab Nebula is one of the best-studied supernova remnants, questions about its progenitor, the nature of the explosion, and the composition of its ejecta still remain unanswered. The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is on the case as it sleuths for any clues that remain within the supernova remnant. Webb’s infrared sensitivity, combined with data previously collected by other telescopes, is offering astronomers a more comprehensive understanding of the still-expanding scene.

Week in images: 23-27 October 2023

ESA’s first-ever Earth Observation Commercialisation Forum will take place next week at ESA Headquarters in Paris from 30 to 31 October 2023. The event will see investors, institutions, entrepreneurs and companies of any size from the Earth observation sector coming together to discuss the commercial potential and challenges of Earth observation. Follow our live steaming on ESA WebTV Two.

Image: This rare, almost cloud-free view of the remote Elephant Island in Antarctica was captured in February 2023 by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

An ongoing project to develop a low-cost, reusable engine for European rockets made considerable progress over the summer and autumn, with a series of tests that achieved full ignition and, ultimately, a 30-second burn with re-ignition of an early prototype of the Prometheus engine. 

We are pleased to announce the introduction of roster recruitment at ESA as a new way to launch your career with us. If you work in a field for which ESA consistently recruits in high numbers, such as system engineering, corporate controlling and product assurance, placement on a roster will open up your access to job opportunities with us. The first ESA roster recruitment position has just been published, so here is a short explainer to bring you up to speed on this new system.

The permanent exhibition Mission Spatiale just opened its doors at the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie in Paris. Produced in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), this immersive exhibition is dedicated to space exploration and invites visitors to embark on an interactive journey structured into five steps: Explore, Travel, Transit, Stay and Questions.

With a multitude of opportunities for start-ups, established companies and investors, commercial Earth observation is a vibrant sector with fast-moving innovations in technology, datasets and downstream applications. ESA is a key driving force for the development of European Earth observation and provides impetus through its many programmes and initiatives.

Under what conditions many chemical elements are created in the Universe has long been shrouded in mystery. This includes elements that are highly valuable, or even vital to life as we know it. Astronomers are now one step closer to an answer thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope and a high-energy event: the second-brightest gamma-ray burst ever detected, most likely caused by the merging of two neutron stars – which resulted in an explosion known as a kilonova.