Intergovernmental space agency
Appears in 11 stories · Last updated Nov 6, 2026
Developed MTG-I2 through Thales Alenia Space
Forecasters will soon see weather over Europe refresh every 2.5 minutes. The first images from Meteosat Third Generation Imager-2 (MTG-I2) show that cadence in action, from fog over central Europe to a wildfire smoke plume in Portugal.
Updated 5 days ago
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano named to Artemis III crew for 2027 orbital docking test
Artemis II returned four astronauts from a trip around the Moon in April 2026, the first crewed lunar flight since Apollo 17 in 1972. On October 23, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman outlined a faster path to the surface: a 14-day Artemis III test in 2027, then a crewed landing in 2028.
Updated 6 days ago
Funder through its NAVISP programme
Testing a GPS receiver against jamming usually means a clean lab signal or a permit to broadcast interference outdoors. An ESA-backed project aims to sell the real thing on a hard drive instead.
Updated 7 days ago
Partner — collaborates with CNES and DLR on the rover and sample science
Japan's Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft is healthy two days after launch, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said on October 21, with the critical first sequence of operations complete. The probe lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 a.m. local time on October 20 aboard an H3 rocket.
Updated Oct 26
As of October 2026: Operating the Juice mission
ESA's Juice spacecraft skimmed 8,640 kilometers above the Indian Ocean on September 28, using Earth's gravity to bend its path toward Jupiter. The flyby added 3.5 km/s to its speed and deflected its trajectory by 20 degrees, with only one small course correction needed in the weeks before.
Updated Oct 5
As of September 2026: Operating JUICE, en route to Jupiter
Six moons in the outer solar system hide oceans of liquid water beneath frozen shells, with at least six more candidates. The evidence comes together in Maciej Cegłowski's essay 'Icy Moons Are Ocean Worlds,' which circulated on Hacker News on September 6.
Updated Sep 7
As of August 2026: Partner agency; provided one of the two spacewalkers
The space station's main high-speed link to Houston was wearing out. On August 18, 2026, two astronauts floated outside and swapped the aging antenna for a spare, restoring a backup for the data and voice that keep the crew safe.
Updated Aug 18
As of August 2026: Managed the program alongside Greece and OroraTech
A fire in Greece used to be spotted by a person, a plane, or a foreign satellite that only saw blazes the size of a cruise ship. Now four suitcase-sized satellites watch Greek soil for heat and can flag a fire as small as a parking space, sending the alert to firefighters within minutes.
Updated Aug 8
As of May 2026: Actively monitoring event via SOHO satellite
On January 18, 2026, the Sun fired the most intense radiation storm in over 20 years directly at Earth. An X1.9-class flare launched a coronal mass ejection traveling at 1,700 kilometers per second—plasma moving fast enough to cross the Sun-Earth distance in just 25 hours.
Updated May 27
As of May 2026: Advancing the Fly! initiative while ESA engineers increasingly appear in commercial flights
On December 20, 2025, Blue Origin flew New Shepard NS-37—and a line quietly snapped. Michaela "Michi" Benthaus became the first wheelchair user to cross the Kármán line, float free in microgravity, and come home safely.
Updated May 15
As of May 2026: Confirms VA266 success and begins early orbit operations/in-orbit testing for SAT 33/34; projects 29 active satellites after commissioning.
VA266 launched successfully. After acquiring signal, ESA declared the mission successful: Galileo SAT 33 and SAT 34 are healthy, with solar arrays deployed. That shifts the story from launch drama to operations: early-orbit checks and in-orbit testing, then a slow drift toward Galileo's 23,222 km operational regime.
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