Three Earth observation satellites, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with European partners, and due to launch later this year, have completed their functional and environmental tests and are ready to travel to the European spaceport in French Guiana. But first, journalists were invited to have one last look.
Image: This image from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the coast of Gabon in striking colours.
Shrinking ice is arguably one of the most visible indicators of climate change – particularly in the Arctic. However, a European Space Agency-funded study used information from satellites to show that Antarctica is now experiencing similar dramatic changes, with profound consequences for key plankton species that underpin the region’s marine food web.
Today, at 17:07 local time on 10 April (01:07 BST/02:07 CEST 11 April), NASA’s Orion spacecraft and its crew splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, marking the end of the Artemis II mission. ESA’s European Service Module powered this historic mission that took four astronauts around the Moon and back for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Actionable data from space could be delivered in seconds in the future, thanks to progress towards the European Space Agency’s (ESA) faster and more secure laser communications network, HydRON. At the 41st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Canadian satellite communications company Kepler was awarded a contract to lead the next phase in the project’s evolution.
Noticeable change on Mars often takes millions of years – but the European Space Agency’s Mars Express has captured a blanket of dark ash creeping across the planet in just decades.
Since July 2025, the European Space Agency’s pair of Proba-3 satellites has already created 57 artificial solar eclipses. So far, the mission has collected more than 250 hours of high-resolution videos of the Sun’s atmosphere, called the corona. That’s the same amount of observing time as about 5000 total solar eclipse campaigns carried out on Earth.
Video: 00:03:39
Artemis II completed a 10-day journey around the Moon, carrying humanity farther into space than it has gone in over 50 years.
Image: Orion and its European Service Module bringing the crew around the Moon and back to Earth
The European Space Agency has achieved a European first with Celeste, successfully transmitting a navigation signal from low Earth orbit, following the launch of the mission’s first satellites on March 28.
Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures an active lava flow on the Piton de la Fournaise volcano on Réunion Island.
Lasers could one day steer solar sails and adjust a satellite’s position in outer space, thanks to graphene. An experiment on a gravity rollercoaster ride showed how this innovative material has the potential to revolutionise propulsion beyond Earth.
On 6 April 2026, NASA’s Artemis II Mission, powered by ESA’s European Service Module (ESM), brought humans further than ever before.
‘Extreme but not exotic,’ – a glimpse at Comet 3I/ATLAS through the eyes of the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice).
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: 00:03:15
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.
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.
All Rights Reserved. 2026. SpaceZE.com
