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ESA Top News

The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA Top News
ESA Top News

ESA Top News

January 21st, 2026 07:54:00 EST -0500 εpsilon
εpsilon website

εpsilon

April 17th, 2026 09:10:00 EDT -0400 Week in images: 13-17 April 2026

Week in images: 13-17 April 2026

Discover our week through the lens

April 17th, 2026 04:00:00 EDT -0400 Earth from Space: Land of rainforests
This image from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the coast of Gabon in striking colours. Image: This image from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the coast of Gabon in striking colours.
April 16th, 2026 08:00:00 EDT -0400 Three ESA-built satellites on show in France
FLEX, Sentinel-3C and MTG-I2 on show at TAS cleanrooms

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.

April 15th, 2026 09:43:00 EDT -0400 Antarctica’s vanishing sea ice transforms marine life
Salps

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.

April 15th, 2026 05:00:00 EDT -0400 Ash creeps across Mars
Mars Express captures dark ash covering Mars’s Utopia Planitia

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.

April 15th, 2026 04:10:00 EDT -0400 ESA begins next phase of 'fibre in the sky' optical communications project with Canada
HydRON optical communication for broadband in space

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. 

April 13th, 2026 07:30:00 EDT -0400 Artemis II: around the Moon in 10 days
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.

ESA played a critical role in the mission’s success. The European Service Module powered and sustained Orion throughout the journey, providing propulsion, power, water and breathable air for the crew.

Mostly built with contributions from 13 ESA Member States—Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, the United Kingdom and Luxembourg—the module represents Europe’s strength in international cooperation.

Looking ahead, ESA will continue to deliver on its commitments to the Artemis programme while advancing Europe’s own ambitions in exploration. Work is underway to strengthen autonomy in key space capabilities and define Europe’s role across low Earth orbit, the Moon and Mars.

As a new era of exploration unfolds, Europe is positioning itself as a strong, reliable and competitive partner in the emerging lunar economy.

April 10th, 2026 09:20:00 EDT -0400 Week in images: 06-10 April 2026
Orion and its European Service Module bringing the crew around the Moon and back to Earth

Week in images: 06-10 April 2026

Discover our week through the lens