Space News & Blog Articles

Image: In an unusual perspective for an Earth-observing satellite, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures this image of Earth’s only natural satellite.

Video: 00:02:12

Artemis II launched on 2 April at 00:35 CEST, (18:35 local time on 1 April), sending astronauts around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. At the heart of the mission is ESA's European Service Module, which powers, propels and sustains the Orion spacecraft and its crew on their journey around the Moon and safely back to Earth.

At 00:35 CEST today (18:35 local time on 1 April), NASA's Space Launch System rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on Artemis II. At the heart of the mission is ESA's European Service Module, which powers, propels and sustains the Orion spacecraft and its crew on their journey around the Moon and safely back to Earth.

Géraldine Naja took up duty as Director of Space Transportation (D/STS) at the European Space Agency on 1 April 2026. She will continue to serve as head of her former directorate, now called the Commercialisation and Industry Partnership directorate (D/CIP), as acting director.

Video: 00:03:15

At 10:14 CET on 28 March, the first two satellites of ESA’s Celeste LEO-PNT in-orbit demonstration mission lifted off aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Māhia, New Zealand.

Week in images: 23-27 March 2026

Christine Klein took up duty as acting Director of Controlling, Finance and Operational Procurement (D/CFO) at the European Space Agency on 1 April 2026. She will lead the newly established directorate during its consolidation.

Eight CubeSats and one payload supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) reached orbit, where they will demonstrate various applications aimed at improving how data is sent around and processed. Thanks to these demonstrations, practical and – sometimes – even life-saving data enabled from space will move more efficiently and reach the right actors on time in the future.

On 28 March, the European Space Agency (ESA) took a major step forward in strengthening Europe's ambition for more resilient satellite navigation, as the first two satellites of the Celeste in-orbit demonstration mission lifted off from New Zealand aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron. Their mission is to begin testing a complementary low Earth orbit layer for Galileo.

Image: Hubble image of barred spiral galaxy IC 486

Image: Western Australia’s Kimberley region is featured in this double view from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have joined forces to capture new views of Saturn, revealing the planet in strikingly different ways. Infrared and visible observations show layers and storms in the ringed planet’s atmosphere.

Wildfires that swept across the Amazon in 2024 were the most devastating in more than two decades. New research funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) suggests emissions may have been up to three times higher than earlier estimates.

An invisible companion consuming material from the naked-eye star gamma-Cas has been revealed as the culprit for curious X-rays coming from the stellar system. This closes the case on a mystery that has puzzled astronomers for more than fifty years. 

Video: 00:03:50

On 25 March, the first two satellites of the Celeste in-orbit demonstration mission will lift off aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Māhia Launch Complex in New Zealand.

Arctic rivers and runoff from the land pour vast volumes of freshwater into the Arctic Ocean, influencing seawater salinity, sea-ice formation and ocean circulation, thereby playing an important role in regulating Earth’s heat balance.

Image: Artemis II rocket back at its launchpad after a second rollout at NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Week in images: 16-20 March 2026

Video: 00:01:57

This video was published on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

Image: Smile fuelled for launch