ESA - European Space Agency

06/09/2026

📸 This was our 31 August - 04 September 2026.
🔗 esa.int/About_Us/Week_in_images/Week_in_images_31_Aug_-_04_Sep_2026

06/09/2026

A few highlights from a very busy few weeks 👀

Three spacewalks, a total solar eclipse, a big step closer to Mercury, Ariane 6’s farthest flight yet, testing for a future Mars landing and a surprising Webb discovery.

Here’s what we’ve been up to lately.
 
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🎞️ ESA/TAS-I/Airbus/Sener, , , ESA/Proba-3/ASPIICS by SA 3.0 IGO, ATG medialab, ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, F. Peißker, J. Lu, F. Yusef-Zadeh, N. B. Sabha, C. Chan CC by 4.0 INT
📸 ESA/ATG medialab

06/09/2026

Stunning new images from Sophie Adenot's third spacewalk earlier this week. 👀

Credits: ESA/NASA - Jessica Meir

International Space Station | NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

06/09/2026

Last night, Isar Aerospace achieved the first launch to orbit from continental Europe.

The Spectrum launcher lifted off from Andøya Spaceport in Norway at 21:12 BST/22:12 CEST.

Isar Aerospace is the first provider to reach this milestone for our European Launcher Challenge. Congratulations to all involved!

📸 Isar Aerospace

Enabling & Support Isar Aerospace achieves first launch to orbit from continental Europe 05/09/2026 1468 views 11 likes ESA / Enabling & Support / Space Transportation / Boost! In brief Today German company Isar Aerospace successfully reached orbit with their Spectrum launcher, lifting off from And....

05/09/2026

Got an idea for a human research experiment in Antarctica? 🧠❄️

Research at Concordia Station helps prepare for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

Submit your biomedical or psychological research proposal by 2 Nov 👉 https://ideas.esa.int/core/servlet/hype/IMT?documentTableId=350956553143195126&userAction=Browse&templateName=&documentId=6a84624d8ba6b8bf23bff3f38f124e54

05/09/2026

Could our Galileo satellites have saved Odysseus 10 years of wandering? 🛰️
 
From a more direct route home to a lifeline after shipwrecks... Europe’s satellite navigation system might have completely changed the course of The Odyssey.
 
 
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🎞️ / 📸 ESA - L. Stanulova

04/09/2026

🆕 Hubble has spotted a decagon at Saturn’s south pole! 🪐

For more than 40 years, astronomers have been watching the hexagonal jet pattern on Saturn’s north pole. 🌬️ Now, they have discovered another pattern, on the planet’s south pole.

Bringing together observations from Hubble’s OPAL programme dating back to 2023, astronomers identified a giant, evolving 10-sided shape encircling the south pole. This is the first time a large, regular-sided jet pattern has been seen in Saturn’s southern hemisphere.

Unlike the famous hexagon, the decagon appears to be strengthening. Computer models and further observations from Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope will help understand how it formed, how long it might last, and how it compares to the hexagon in the north!

🔗 esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Hubble_tracks_new_decagon_encircling_Saturn_s_south_pole

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Space Telescope Science Institute

04/09/2026

Can you spot a UNESCO World Heritage Site from space?
We can, and we've got nine new ones to prove it 🛰️

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee wrapped in July its 48th session in Busan, South Korea. The World Heritage List now holds 1 273 sites across 173 countries. We've teamed up with UNESCO to show you nine of the new inscriptions, the way only a satellite can see them.

Which one would you visit first? Tell us in the comments.

04/09/2026

It’s peak hurricane season, and is keeping tabs from space. 🌀

This week, several tropical storms are swirling across the Pacific Ocean. One of them, Karina, developed into a Category 4 hurricane in recent days and is currently whistling with 193 kph winds east of Hawaii. These composite images show Hurricane Karina capturing cloud ice, precipitation and the vertical motion of particles in unprecedented detail. 🛰️

You can access EarthCARE data yourself, which is free and openly available on our Earth Online website 🔗https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/missions/earthcare

EUMETSAT | JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)

04/09/2026

Recent tests successfully demonstrated landing leg deployment and backshell separation, key milestones on the path to a safe touchdown for the Rosalind Franklin rover on Mars in 2030. 🔴

🔗esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Exploration/ExoMars

Thales Alenia Space | Airbus Space | Sener