Satellite data have captured the intensity of rainfall over the Iberian Peninsula during three severe winter storms, and the extent of flooding that followed around the Tejo River and basin in Portugal.
Space News & Blog Articles
Join ESA teams to watch live the launch and docking of Crew-12, marking the beginning of a nine‑month mission to the International Space Station.
Video: 00:01:21
For its most powerful flight yet, Ariane 6 lifts off for the first time with four boosters.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher joined French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace for an event celebrating the first spaceflight of ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot.
Video: 00:03:58
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot is preparing to launch to the International Space Station for her first space mission: εpsilon.
Image: With the 2026 Winter Olympics officially opening today, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission brings us a striking view of northern Italy, highlighting several key Olympic venues.
With fewer cars on the road, planes in the air and factories running, the skies seemed cleaner during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, while there was a decline in pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, scientists were surprised to see that methane surged in the early 2020s and then dropped – and now they know why.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher joined French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace for an event celebrating the first spaceflight of ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot.
ESA’s Mars Express takes us on a journey across the southern highlands of Mars, including a flight around Flaugergues Crater.
Video: 00:04:21
Space activities are unlike any others. They interact not just with Earth, but with three interconnected environments: Earth, Earth’s orbit, and the Moon and deep space. On Earth, we aim to reduce the space sector’s environmental impacts while maximising the societal and environmental benefits of our missions. In orbit, we manage space debris and collision risks to maintain safe and secure operations. For the Moon and deep space, we are laying the foundations to minimise the impact of our missions on and around other celestial bodies.
When satellites eventually fall back down to Earth, they mostly burn up because of the friction caused by the atmosphere. Scientific data about this atmospheric reentry process is urgently needed to design future satellites for a quick, safe and sustainable demise at the end of their mission – reducing risks on the ground and in space.
The 2026 ESA Graduate Trainee positions are now open! If you’re passionate about engineering, science, IT or business, this is your chance to turn your dreams into reality.
A study on tectonic plates that converge on the Tibetan Plateau has shown that Earth’s fault lines are far weaker and the continents are less rigid than scientists previously thought. This finding is based on ground-monitoring satellite data.
Press Release N° 5–2026
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over part of the coastal area of Rudong County on China’s eastern seaboard.
The crew of four will launch no earlier than Wednesday 11 February at 11:00 GMT/12:00 CET (06:00 EST) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA. The next available opportunities are Thursday 12 February at 10:38 GMT/11:38 CET (05:38 EST) and Friday 13 February at 10:15 GMT/11:15 CET (05:15 EST).
Two days of intense discussions and exchanges came to an end at the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
Video: 00:08:37
Watch the keynote address by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher on the second day of the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels.

