European Space Agency news
BepiColombo begins Mercury arrival with MTM separa...
On 3 September 2026 at 15:49 CEST, the European Space Agency's BepiColombo Mission Control Team at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) received the signal they had been waiting for – BepiColombo’s Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) successfully separated from the spacecraft stack. This landmark achievement for...
Europe's space future in focus at the Internationa...
The International Space Summit, taking place in Paris, France, on 9 and 10 September, will bring together world leaders, ministers, industry representatives and astronauts at a pivotal moment for the future of space. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher will...
Week in images: 31 Aug - 04 Sep 2026
Week in images: 31 Aug - 04 Sep 2026 Discover our week through the lens
How Sentinel-3 tracks climate change
Copernicus Sentinel-3 is one of the most diverse missions for measuring and monitoring Earth’s climate systems. It captures a breadth of data about the environment and has contributed substantially to what we know about climate change over the past...
Latest updates: BepiColombo's arrival at Mercury
After eight years of travelling through the inner Solar System, BepiColombo is arriving at Mercury. This page will show the latest updates throughout the mission's arrival.
FLEX and Sentinel-3C sealed within Vega-C fairing
At Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, preparations for one of the year’s most anticipated Earth-observation launches are entering their final stages.FLEX and Copernicus Sentinel-3C have now been enclosed within the protective fairing of their Vega-C rocket, bringing the two...
Third spacewalk completed for Sophie Adenot
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir successfully completed US EVA-99 at 21:29 CEST on Tuesday 1 September. It was Sophie’s third spacewalk, and the 33rd conducted by a European astronaut.
Cluster’s encore for reentry science a success
The Cluster mission danced its final dance as Tango reentered the atmosphere on 1 September, at 23:30:31 CEST. The end of the Cluster mission in 2024 turned into the start of the reentry data collection campaign. After four ‘targeted’...
ESA’s first lunar rover rolls forward
Yesterday evening, during a signing ceremony at the Space for Inspiration event in Copenhagen, Denmark, the European Space Agency (ESA) and ispace-Europe celebrated the implementation of MAGPIE, set to be the first European rover on the Moon.
Samba’s fiery farewell recorded
Yesterday, on 31 August 2026, Samba reentered Earth’s atmosphere at 21:39:38 UTC / 23:39:38 CEST as the third of the four Cluster satellites. Samba had been lined up for a special 'targeted reentry' safely over the South Pacific Ocean, the...
Media briefing: BepiColombo's next milestone towar...
Video: 01:09:40 Rewatch the European Space Agency's 31 August 2026 online press briefing on the latest developments of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission, Europe's and Japan's first mission to Mercury.This briefing focused on the complexities of the separation of the...
What happened this month at the European Space Age...
Video: 00:03:19 August was a busy month for ESA, between spectacular views, historic milestones and exciting new discoveries. From a total solar eclipse broadcast live from Spain and Sophie Adenot’s historic spacewalks, to the launch of MTG-I2 aboard Ariane 6,...
Nepal flash flood imaged by satellites
With thousands of emergency responders conducting search-and-rescue operations following the catastrophic flash flood that struck northern Nepal on 26 August, satellite imagery is helping to reveal the scale of the inundation and devastation across the affected region.
Roman lifts off on a mission to survey the infrare...
Image: NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, at 07:26 EDT / 12:26 BST/ 13:26 CEST on 30 August 2026. With the successful launch, Roman...
Week in images: 24-28 August 2026
Week in images: 24-28 August 2026 Discover our week through the lens
Observing Samba and Tango’s reentries
The final two of ESA's pioneering Cluster spacecraft, Samba and Tango, will end their journeys as they burn up in our atmosphere on 31 August and 1 September respectively. Their targeted reentries mark the end of a mission that...
MTG-I2 completes Europe’s latest weather trio
The second Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite (MTG-I2) has been launched on board Ariane 6, flight VA270, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. It will complete the first family of MTG satellites, delivering data for weather forecasting over Europe...






























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