European Space Agency
The European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organization of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,200
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Video: 00:01:43 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. ESA has now taken another important step on the road towards sustainability in space with its first in-orbit servicing mission RISE, planned for launch in 2029. RISE is a commercial in-orbit servicing mission that …
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Image: First view of aerosols from MetOp Second Generation’s 3MI instrument View the full article
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Week in images: 08-12 September 2025 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
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Image: 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. The event was organised by the European Parliament and the European Commission, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, to promote dialogue between European and national decision-makers and industry leaders. Representatives from major European entities debated the future of the European Union, which is facing unprecedented challenges since the postwar period, in an increasingly complex geopolitical context. Participants examined Europe’s needs in key sectors such as space, cyb…
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Image: Part of the Gibson Desert in Western Australia is featured in this image, captured by the Φsat-2 mission in June 2025. View the full article
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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. View the full article
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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. View the full article
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Image: Immense stellar jet in Milky Way outskirts View the full article
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Week in images: 01-05 September 2025 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
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Estonia marked its 10th anniversary in the European Space Agency alongside the plenary session of the European Interparliamentary Space Conference on 4 September. View the full article
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Image: Webb image of a glittering glimpse of starbirth View the full article
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Following the announcement of the upcoming launch of LEO-PNT’s first satellites, ESA has now unveiled the name of the mission. Celeste, as it has been officially designated, will test the potential of a new, low Earth orbit layer of satellites to enhance Galileo’s resilience and complement its capabilities. View the full article
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The second of the Meteosat Third Generation Imagers, MTG-I2, has passed some important milestones in the cleanroom facilities at Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, southern France. View the full article
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Less than three weeks since the first MetOp Second Generation weather satellite, MetOp-SG-A1, was launched, this remarkable new satellite has already started transmitting data from two of its cutting-edge instruments, offering a tantalising glimpse of what’s to come. View the full article
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The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter mission has split the flood of energetic particles flung out into space from the Sun into two groups, tracing each back to a different kind of outburst from our star. View the full article
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Week in images: 25-29 August 2025 Discover our week through the lens View the full article
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For this new Picture of the Month feature, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has provided a fantastic new view of IRAS 04302+2247, a planet-forming disc located about 525 light-years away in a dark cloud within the Taurus star-forming region. With Webb, researchers can study the properties and growth of dust grains within protoplanetary discs like this one, shedding light on the earliest stages of planet formation. View the full article
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Video: 00:09:30 In Tenerife, Spain, stands a unique duo: ESA’s Izaña-1 and Izaña-2 laser-ranging stations. Together, they form an optical technology testbed of the European Space Agency that takes the monitoring of space debris and satellites to a new level while maturing new technologies for commercialisation. Space debris is a threat to satellites and is rapidly becoming a daily concern for satellite operators. The Space Safety Programme, part of ESA Operations, managed from ESOC in Germany, helps develop new technologies to detect and track debris, and to prevent collisions in orbit in new and innovative ways. One of these efforts takes place at the Izaña st…
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Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-3 image shows high concentrations of chlorophyll in yellow-green along the coastline of South Australia, near Adelaide. Chlorophyll-a is a key indicator of the presence of algae in the ocean. View the full article
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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). View the full article
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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. View the full article
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ESA Open Days 2025 Your chance to meet the European Space Agency View the full article
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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. View the full article
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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. View the full article
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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. The issue, which emerged during a routine ground station pass on 16 July, temporarily disrupted Juice’s ability to transmit information about its health and status (telemetry). Thanks to swift and coordinated action by the teams at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, and Juice’s manufacturer, Airbus, communication was restored in time to prepare for the upcoming planetary encounter. View the full …
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