Euopean Space Agency Space News

• εpsilon

  

  εpsilon

• ESA analysing fireball over Europe on 8 March 2026

  

  At approximately 18:55 CET (17:55 UTC) on Sunday 8 March 2026, a very bright fireball moving from the southwest to the northeast was observed by many people in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

• "She flies satellites. One day, I can too."

  

  At ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), teams work around the clock to fly spacecraft across the Solar System and monitor Earth from orbit. Among them are women leading spacecraft operations, managing teams and helping shape the culture of ESA’s mission control.

• Week in images: 02-06 March 2026

  

  Week in images: 02-06 March 2026

  Discover our week through the lens

• Earth from Space: Dhaka, Bangladesh

  Image: These two views from Copernicus Sentinel-2 reveal the landscape transformation in the area around Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

• Meet ESA’s newest female leadership

  

  This year for International Women’s Day, we showcase some of the women from the European Space Agency’s most recent female leadership recruits: Céline Begon, Christine Boelsche, Céline Folsché and Ildiko Raczne Szoke.

• New AI Hub to empower space-enabled connectivity

  

  New AI Hub to empower space-enabled connectivity

• Asteroid 2024 YR4 will not impact the Moon

  

  Last year, an approximately 60 metre near-Earth object captured global attention. For a brief period, asteroid 2024 YR4 became the most dangerous asteroid discovered in the last 20 years. While an Earth impact was soon ruled out, the asteroid faded from view with a lingering 4% chance of striking the Moon on 22 December 2032.

  Now, that risk has been eliminated. Astronomers have confirmed that 2024 YR4 will not impact the Moon using new observations made by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Instead, it will safely pass the Moon at a distance of more than 20 000 km.

• Training for the εpsilon mission

  Video: 00:05:43

  ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot began her training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, where she studied spacecraft systems and crew operations — learning to think and act as an astronaut. Alongside this, she conditioned her body for spaceflight and prepared for the physical and operational demands of her mission.

  Her preparation includes continuous medical training and support, neutral buoyancy training for spacewalks and immersive virtual reality sessions at ESA’s XR Lab.

  This video features interviews with Bimba Hoyer, Flight Surgeon at ESA; Hervé Stevenin, Head of EVA & Parabolic Flight Training Unit and Head of the Neutral Buoyancy Facility; and Lionel Ferra, Software and Artificial Intelligence Team Leader at ESA.