Space News & Blog Articles

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Antarctica retreat study signals future ice loss

The ice along Antarctica’s ‘grounding lines’ has been largely stable over the past 30 years – but ice has retreated by more than 40 km in some areas, a new study based on satellite data finds.

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World-first gigabit-per-second laser link between aircraft and geostationary satellite

Faster, more secure connections from space could one day make broadband on planes, ships and even remote roads as easy as turning on a light. The European Space Agency (ESA), Airbus Defence and Space, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and German payload manufacturer TESAT (as subcontractor) successfully connected an aircraft to a geostationary satellite using laser communications, bringing people closer to seamless, high‑speed connections in daily life.

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Week in images: 23-27 February 2026

Week in images: 23-27 February 2026

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In-flight call with ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot

Video: 00:19:11

On 26 February, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot conducted her first in-flight call with selected French media.

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First glimpse of comet 3I/ATLAS from Juice science camera

Image: First glimpse of comet 3I/ATLAS from Juice science camera

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Earth from Space: Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the icy landscape of Terra Nova Bay in East Antarctica.

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First MetOp Second Generation-B satellite spreads its wing

With launch planned for later this year, testing is well underway to ensure the MetOp Second Generation-B1 weather satellite is ready for its life in orbit around Earth. These checks include verifying that its spectacular four-panel, 11-metre-long, solar wing will deploy correctly.

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Greta rocket engine completes first test campaign

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Meet ESA Astronaut Sophie Adenot

Video: 00:08:30

Born in France in 1982, Sophie Adenot is an engineer, helicopter test pilot and colonel in the French Air and Space Force. Selected as an ESA astronaut in 2022, she completed her basic training at the European Astronaut Centre in 2024 and launched to the International Space Station on 13 February 2026 for her first mission, εpsilon.

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Last call to apply: 2026 ESA Graduate Trainee Programme

There are only a few days left to apply for the 2026 Graduate Trainee positions at the European Space Agency. Applications close on 28 February 2026, so this is your final chance to submit your application before the deadline!

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Week in images: 16-20 February 2026

Week in images: 16-20 February 2026

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Annular solar eclipse seen from space

Image: Proba-2's view from Earth orbit of an annular solar eclipse

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Earth from Space: Ouarzazate, Morocco

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over south-central Morocco, near the city of Ouarzazate.

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Smile sets sail for Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana

Just over a year since Smile arrived in the Netherlands in two parts, the now-complete and thoroughly-tested spacecraft has left for good. With a launch window set for 8 April – 7 May on a Vega-C rocket, the joint European-Chinese mission is almost ready to embark upon its unique space mission.

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ESA’s Celeste target launch date confirmed

The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing for the inaugural launch of the Celeste LEO-PNT in-orbit demonstration mission with the first two satellites scheduled to lift off no earlier than 24 March, aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Māhia Launch Complex in New Zealand.

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Webb maps Uranus's mysterious upper atmosphere

For the first time, an international team of astronomers have mapped the vertical structure of Uranus’s upper atmosphere, uncovering how temperature and charged particles vary with height across the planet. Using NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope's NIRSpec instrument, the team observed Uranus for nearly a full rotation, detecting the faint glow from molecules high above the clouds. The results offer a new window into how ice-giant planets distribute energy in their upper layers.

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Revealed: 10 new insights in climate science

Each year, the world’s leading climate scientists evaluate the most critical evidence on how our planet is changing. Their assessments draw heavily on data from Earth-observing satellites – and the latest report delivers a stark warning: the planet’s energy balance is drifting further out of alignment, ocean warming is now accelerating, and the land’s capacity to absorb carbon is declining, along with other troubling trends.

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River deltas are sinking faster than the sea is rising

Earth’s river deltas, home to about 5% of the global population and some of the world’s major cities, are experiencing subsidence, which exacerbates the risks from sea-level rise. The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission has captured a decade's worth of data showing land sinking faster than previously thought.

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Crew-12: Docking, hatch opening and welcome remarks

Video: 00:02:44

Watch the docking operations of Crew-12 to the International Space Station (ISS), which took place on 14 February 2026 at 21:15 CET. The docking is followed by the hatch opening and the welcome remarks by the astronauts already present in the ISS.                                        

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Official start of ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot’s εpsilon mission

The SpaceX Dragon Freedom capsule carrying ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, docked with the International Space Station on 14 February, at 20:15 GMT/21:15 CET, marking the official start of ESA’s εpsilon mission.

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Official start of ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot’s εpsilon mission

The SpaceX Dragon Freedom capsule carrying ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, docked with the International Space Station on 14 February, at 20:15 GMT/21:15 CET, marking the official start of ESA’s εpsilon mission.

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