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Operating across 140 million km of space, the control team for ESA’s Hera mission have succeeded in upgrading the software running the spacecraft, leaving it ready to explore the distant Dimorphos and Didymos asteroids this autumn.

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot has begun testing the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D) on the International Space Station. Installed inside ESA's Columbus laboratory, the new exercise system will spend the next two years helping researchers evaluate innovative ways to keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space missions.  

The second Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite (MTG-I2) has begun its launch campaign, during which it will go through final inspections before being fitted inside the fairing of the Ariane 6 rocket that will launch it into space towards the end of the summer. So how will this 3800 kg satellite help improve weather forecasts for Europe and North Africa?

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This timelapse was published on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

 

Day 139, orbit 2155 — After the pictures (available in HD on my Flickr account), I'm so happy to finally share the timelapse of the most spectacular aurora of the εpsilon mission so far! 

Watching this glowing green ribbon shimmer and dance, it's easy to lose yourself completely in the magic of the moment. Turn the sound on for the full experience – the music was carefully chosen to bring you as close as possible to what I felt watching this from space .

 

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Jour 139, orbite 2155 – Après les photos (disponibles en HD sur mon compte Flickr), je suis très heureuse de pouvoir enfin partager avec vous le timelapse de l’aurore la plus spectaculaire (jusqu’à présent !) de la mission εpsilon !

 

Difficile de ne pas céder à la magie de l’instant en regardant ce ruban de lumière verte onduler et danser sous nos yeux... Activez le son pour vivre pleinement l’expérience : la musique a été choisie avec soin pour évoquer les émotions que j’ai ressenties en admirant ce spectacle depuis l’espace

Week in images: 29 June - 03 July 2026

Discover our week through the lens

Image: The Grand Canyon, a stunning natural feature in the landscape of Arizona, US, is featured in these two satellite views.

The European Space Agency has contracted Spanish company EMXYS for the first CubeSat designed to operate on the surface of an asteroid. Don Quijote is a shoebox-sized spacecraft that will be deployed onto the Apophis asteroid by ESA’s Ramses mission before the asteroid flies by Earth on 13 April 2029.

Building on the remarkable success of the Earth Explorer Aeolus wind mission, the European Space Agency has given Airbus Defence and Space in the UK the authorisation to proceed to begin the development of Aeolus’ successor, Aeolus-2 – which is set to be built to enhance operational weather forecasts.

An international team of astronomers has used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to watch the Jupiter-sized exoplanet WD 1856 b transit its host star, measuring the planet’s mass and temperature and even detecting its atmosphere.

They found that the planet is significantly warmer than expected and determined how it most likely reached its very tight orbit around the star, a white dwarf. The results are our first window into the future of planets like Jupiter after the death of the Sun, billions of years into the future.

Image: This image shows the sea surface temperature anomaly detected in the Mediterranean Sea on 29 June 2026.

The European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra X-ray space telescopes have spotted the aftermath of three bright explosions echoing through the outer spiral arms of our galaxy, the Milky Way. By measuring the distance to these echoes, they find the outer arms to be up to 10% further away than we thought.

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Millions of stars. Thousands of hidden worlds. One unprecedented view of our galaxy.

Three years since launch, ESA’s Euclid space telescope reveals the Milky Way galaxy’s centre in extraordinary detail: a mosaic of tens of millions of stars captured in just 26 hours.But this is more than an image. It is a map of stellar evolution, from dark clouds where stars are being born to ancient populations packed into the galactic bulge.

And hidden within this dense field of light are planets we cannot see directly.

Through gravitational microlensing, astronomers detect distant worlds by measuring tiny, temporary changes in light as stars pass in front of one another, revealing planets and even their masses through gravity alone.

Euclid, originally built to explore dark matter and dark energy, is now helping open a new window on our own galaxy, and the unseen worlds within it.

Five explorers from three space agencies have successfully completed ESA’s CAVES training course in Italy.  

Are you passionate about space and looking to build a long-term career in the European space sector? Do you have less than three years of professional experience and a Master’s degree? The European Space Agency is offering a unique opportunity through its Junior Professional Programme (JPP), designed to cultivate the next generation of space professionals. If you dream of contributing to cutting-edge space missions and working in an international, dynamic environment, this programme is your gateway to an exciting future at ESA. Apply now to join us as a Junior Professional! 

After 12 years of exceptional service, the pioneering Copernicus Sentinel-1A radar satellite has reached the end of its mission. Originally designed for a seven-year life in orbit, the satellite has exceeded expectations, not only by its longevity, but through the extraordinary impact of its data, which have deepened our understanding of our changing planet and supported a wide range of operational services and laid the foundation for scientific discoveries.

Happy Asteroid Day! Today is the annual UN-recognised global event to promote public education on asteroids and planetary defence. But why today, of all days? Read on to find out – and find out the other key dates in our current golden age of asteroids!

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What did space have in store for Europe this month? This June, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano was named pilot of NASA's Artemis III mission, Ariane 6 set a new European launch record, Proba-3 returned to operations, ESA satellites detected early signs of El Niño, Euclid unveiled its most detailed view yet of the Milky Way's galactic centre, and Sophie Adenot reached the halfway point of her εpsilon mission aboard the International Space Station.

Join us for another month of European space achievements.

Image: The map is an interferogram derived from the comparison of Sentinel-1 data on two dates: on the 18 June before the earthquakes and on 25 June a day after.

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Go behind the scenes at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, and discover how space experiments are prepared long before they reach orbit. Meet the ECOS team, as Deputy Manager Salvi Verma shares how they work with scientists, engineers and astronauts to turn ideas into real missions aboard the International Space Station. From early planning on the ground to supporting astronauts like ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot during her Epsilon mission, this is how space science becomes reality.

This interview was recorded in March 2026.

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