European Space Agency

At the European Space Agency’s technical heart in the Netherlands, engineers have spent the last five months unboxing and testing elements of Europe’s next space science mission. With the two main parts now joined together, Smile is well on its way to being ready to launch by the end of 2025. View the full article

The methane emitted in 2022 by the damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines was more than double the volume estimated at the time, according to a study published in Nature. View the full article

A compelling collection of images that illustrates humanity’s efforts to mitigate the far-reaching impacts of violent solar outbursts has been unveiled in London. View the full article

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Week in images: 24-28 February 2025 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured the Maha Kumbh Mela festival, the world’s largest human gathering, which took place in the city of Prayagraj in northern India. View the full article

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Image: The first metal 3D part ever created on orbit has landed on Earth. The sample was produced in ESA’s Metal 3D Printer on the International Space Station. Now, it’s on Earth for the first time, at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands (ESTEC). The printer, developed by Airbus and its partners, was installed in the Columbus module by ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen during his Huginn mission in January 2024. In June, the facility succeeding in making its first print, a curvy line in the shape of an 'S’. In summer, the printer produced its first full sample, and then a second sample in December. This first sample will now be tested in the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory at ESTEC and compared to samples printed on Earth to understand how microgravity affects the printing process. The second sample will be handed over to the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). While astronauts have operated plastic 3D printers on the International Space Station before, this marks the first successful metal printing on orbit. As missions venture farther from Earth, in-space manufacturing will be crucial for self-sufficiency, allowing astronauts to manufacture essential parts, repair equipment and create tools on demand, without relying on costly resupply missions. View the full article

Video: 00:03:06 The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will drill deeper than any other mission has ever attempted on the Red Planet. The third episode in the series shows how the rover will extract, collect and analyse martian samples in a high-fidelity simulation. Rosalind Franklin will be the first rover to reach a depth of up to two metres deep below the surface, acquiring samples that have been protected from harsh fsurface radiation and extreme temperatures. The drill system combines multiple precission mechanisms in an intricate automated sequence. It uses three extension rods that connect tor form a two-metre “drill string”. As the rover drills, it will simultaneously investigate the borehole using infrared spectroscopy to study mineral composition. The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission is part of Europe’s ambitious exploration journey to search for past and present signs of life on Mars. For the latest mission updates, visit ESA’s ExoMars website and our FAQ section. Watch all the videos from the ExoMars Rosalind Frankin mission series. Access the related broadcast quality video material. View the full article

The Red Planet’s iconic rusty dust has a much wetter history than previously assumed, find scientists combining European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA spacecraft data with new laboratory experiments on replica Mars dust. The results suggest that Mars rusted early in the planet’s ancient past, when liquid water was more widespread. View the full article

The latest analysis from the European Space Agency (ESA) Planetary Defence Office has reduced the probability that asteroid 2024 YR4 might impact Earth in 2032 to 0.001%. View the full article

The European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission will create artificial solar eclipses in orbit, allowing scientists to study the Sun’s corona for longer periods of time than would be possible during eclipses observed from Earth. To test the functionality of Proba-3’s systems, researchers from the Royal Observatory of Belgium took a snapshot of a star field – in the very first image captured by the mission’s coronagraph. View the full article

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Week in images: 17-21 February 2025 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to harness space technology for humanitarian assistance worldwide. The partnership will combine ESA's space expertise with ICRC's humanitarian reach to develop space-enabled solutions that can help protect and assist communities affected by disasters and conflicts across Europe and beyond. View the full article

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar image shows Tokyo and its metropolitan area, the largest urban agglomeration in the world. View the full article

The second of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites and the first instrument for the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission are fully integrated and, having completed their functional and environmental tests, they are now ready to embark on their journey to the US for launch this summer. View the full article

Ice melting from glaciers around the world is depleting regional freshwater resources and driving global sea levels to rise at ever-faster rates. According to new findings, through an international effort involving 35 research teams, glaciers have been losing an average of 273 billion tonnes of ice per year since the year 2000 – but hidden within this average there has been an alarming increase over the last 10 years. View the full article

Lobster-eye satellite Einstein Probe captured the X-ray flash from a very elusive celestial pair. The discovery opens a new way to explore how massive stars interact and evolve, confirming the unique power of the mission to uncover fleeting X-ray sources in the sky. View the full article

The European Space Agency (ESA) and AAC Clyde Space, a New Space company specialising in small satellite technologies, have jointly signed a contract for the first phase of satellite constellation project INFLECION. The initiative will transform Maritime Domain Awareness – the understanding of activities at sea – by enhancing safety, efficiency, compliance, and environmental sustainability in maritime operations. View the full article

The European Space Agency (ESA) is ready to guide the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft through its closest encounter with Venus so far. Today’s flyby will be the first to significantly ‘tilt’ the spacecraft’s orbit and allow it to see the Sun’s polar regions, which cannot be seen from Earth. Studying the Sun’s poles will improve our understanding of solar activity, space weather, and the Sun-Earth connection. View the full article

On 13 and 14 February 2025, the European Space Agency (ESA) celebrated 20 years of supporting space innovation through its ESA Business Incubation Centres (BIC) network. The event in Munich, Germany, brought together entrepreneurs, successful space companies, experts and policymakers. View the full article

Week in images: 10-14 February 2025 Discover our week through the lens View the full article

Video: 00:42:11 Watch the latest updates on ESA’s Fly! Feasibility Study with Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, John McFall, Member of the ESA Astronaut Reserve & Fly! Subject Matter Expert, Jerome Reineix, Fly! Study Manager, and Alessandro Alcibiade, Fly! Flight Surgeon. Announced in November 2022 during the Ministerial Council held in Paris, France, this unique and groundbreaking study is aimed at understanding and challenging the limitations posed by physical disabilities to human spaceflight. Concluded in late 2024, the Fly! Feasibility Study successfully demonstrated it is technically feasible to fly someone with a physical disability, like John’s, on a six-month mission to the International Space Station as a fully integrated crew member. It underpinned the desire to ensure that space exploration is not limited by physical constraints and that every individual can contribute to our collective understanding of the cosmos and of the benefits of spaceflight for life on Earth. The end of the feasibility study marks the start of the next phase: Fly! Mission Ready . This is an essential step to carry out the first long-term mission for an astronaut with a physical disability. View the full article