Space News & Blog Articles

Glasgow, host of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26), is featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Today, ESA and NASA have publicly released the first globally-harmonised assessment of above ground biomass – information that is vital for managing global climate change. The Multi-Mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform (MAAP) provides seamless access to above ground biomass information from both NASA and ESA Earth observation data. The revolutionary open-science tool is now fully operational and accessible online.

Image: Lunar Lander in Dubai

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ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet from France began Alpha - his second mission to the International Space Station - on 23 April 2021. Launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA, on the second operational flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon, he has now spent around six months in orbit on mission Alpha. In addition to science experiments, he has taken part in four spacewalks and countless scientific investigations. On 4 October Thomas became the fourth European International Space Station Commander. He is now the ESA astronaut with the most total time spent in space and on spacewalks.

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ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and his NASA crew mates Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron are all smiles as they arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA on 26 October 2021.

Collectively, the astronauts make up Crew-3 and will travel to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft “Endurance”. The first launch opportunity for Crew-3 is 07:21 CET (06:21 GMT, 02:21 EDT) Sunday 31 October 2021, with a backup date of 3 November. 

The Dragon will dock with the Space Station 22 hours after launch, allowing for a short overlap with the Crew-2 members who are due to depart the Station in the coming week.

With both Matthias and ESA astronaut and current Space Station Commander Thomas Pesquet on board, Europe will have two astronauts resident in space – a rare occurrence.  

The name of Matthias’s mission is “Cosmic Kiss”. This is Matthias’s first mission, and he will be the 600th human to fly to space.

Whether you are hosting a YouTube channel about space or volunteering to speak at your local school, we want to recognise and reward your passion and advocacy for space.

Air passengers will soon be able to cut their carbon footprint when travelling on flights that are routed using satellites.

Using ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra X-ray space telescopes, astronomers have made an important step in the quest to find a planet outside of the Milky Way.

The 72nd International Astronautical Congress opens its doors on Monday 25 October at the Dubai  World Trade Centre in the United Arab Emirates, for a week of intense interactions for the world space community. After one year online due to COVID-19 restrictions, the congress returns to an in-person event with the theme 'Inspire, innovate and discover for the benefit of humankind'.

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German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer will soon begin his first mission to the International Space Station. As a member of Crew-3, he will be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft alongside NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron.

Matthias selected the mission name “Cosmic Kiss” for his time in orbit as a declaration of love for space. He will spend around six months living and working in microgravity, where he will carry out many European and international experiments to advance space exploration and benefit lives on Earth.

For more on Matthias and the Cosmic Kiss mission visit the ESA mission website

Europe’s Ariane 5 has delivered two telecom satellites, SES-17 and Syracuse-4A, into their planned orbits.

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Time lapse of the stacking of the Orion spacecraft on top of the fully assembled Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on 21 October 2021, in preparation for the uncrewed Artemis I launch.

For Artemis I, the European Service Module will take the spacecraft more than 64 000 km beyond the Moon in a test flight to demonstrate its capabilities.

The European Service Module is ESA’s contribution to NASA’s Orion spacecraft that will send astronauts to the Moon and beyond. It provides electricity, water, oxygen and nitrogen as well as keeping the spacecraft at the right temperature and on course.

Learn more about Orion

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Week in images: 18 - 22 October 2021

Discover our week through the lens

On this day, twenty years ago, ESA’s first small satellite, Proba-1 (Project for On Board Autonomy), was launched with just one goal – to prove technologies in space.

When considering the implications of thawing permafrost, our initial worries are likely to turn to the major issue of methane being released into the atmosphere and exacerbating global warming or issues for local communities as the ground and infrastructure become unstable. While this is bad enough, new research reveals that the potential effects of permafrost thaw could also pose serious health threats.

As part of the ESA–NASA Arctic Methane and Permafrost Challenge, new research has revealed that rapidly thawing permafrost in the Arctic has the potential to release antibiotic-resistant bacteria, undiscovered viruses and even radioactive waste from Cold War nuclear reactors and submarines.

Image: Mini Earth-observer Proba-1's 20 years in orbit

Perth, Western Australia’s capital and largest city, is featured in this true-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

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Watch the replay of this media event to hear about the outcome of the 300th ESA Council.

Delegations from Member States are meeting in Paris on 20 and 21 October 2021. Panelists, including ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, provide live updates on the Intermediate Ministerial Meeting that will take place in Portugal in November 2021. The High-Level Advisory Group Report will also be presented and new ESA directors will be announced.

Earth observation provides a wealth of information to benefit our daily lives. As the demand for satellite data grows to address the challenges of climate change and a growing population, ESA, under the leadership of the European Commission, along with its key European partners, are developing high precision digital models of Earth to monitor and simulate both natural and human activity, to enable more sustainable development and support European environmental policies.

Today, at the ESA Council, Member States approved a ‘Contribution Agreement', which paves the way for cooperation with the European Commission on the Destination Earth initiative, in the context of the Digital Agenda of the European Union.

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Europe’s own satellite navigation system, Galileo, has become the world’s most precise, delivering metre-level accuracy, available anywhere on Earth. It is also saving lives, relaying distress calls for search and rescue. Today there are 26 Galileo satellites in orbit 23 222 km over our heads; the first of them were launched on 21 October 2011, with nine more launches in the following years. The satellites in space are supported by a globe-spanning ground segment. The system as a whole is set to grow, with the first of 12 ‘Batch 3’ about to join the current satellites in orbit and new ‘Galileo Second Generation’ satellites in development.

Galileo has been financed by the EU and developed by ESA, with services delivered by EUSPA.