http://www.esa.int/rssfeed/Our_Activities/Space_News
Launched just a little over three months ago, Copernicus Sentinel-5A has returned its first images – including a global map of ozone, maps of nitrogen dioxide over the Middle East and South Africa, formaldehyde over parts of Africa, and emissions of sulphur dioxide from an active volcano in Russia – showcasing the mission’s powerful capability to monitor atmospheric gases worldwide.
The first high-resolution images have been received from Copernicus Sentinel-1D and were shared publicly for the first time at the European Space Agency’s Ministerial Council, held today in Bremen, Germany. Glaciers in Antarctica, the tip of South America, as well as the city of Bremen, are visible in these stunning radar images.
Image:
The Hayli Gubbi volcano in northeast Ethiopia, dormant for up to 12 000 years, erupted on 23 November 2025, sending a large plume of ash and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere. Copernicus Sentinel-5P captured the spread of the sulphur dioxide.
Europe has strengthened its secure-communications capabilities with the successful launch of SpainSat NG II on 24 October, wrapping up the SpainSat Next Generation programme supported by the European Space Agency (ESA). With both SpainSat NG satellites now in orbit, Europe will see its most advanced governmental communications system to date, a major step for the continent’s security, crisis-response capacity, and technological autonomy.
The clock is ticking! Applications for the ESA Student Internship Programme 2026 close on 30 November. This is your chance to take your first step into the world of space.
The European Space Agency’s Ministerial Council – more formally Council at Ministerial level – takes place in Bremen, Germany on 26 and 27 November 2025.
Week in images: 17-21 November 2025
Discover our week through the lens
Image:
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over one of Earth’s most extreme environments: the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia.
Image:
Finding star clusters in the Lost Galaxy
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has been cruising towards Mercury since October 2018. With just one year to go until it arrives at its destination, what has the mission achieved so far? And what can we expect from its two spacecraft after they enter orbit around the Solar System’s smallest and least-explored rocky planet?
Video:
00:05:30
Bepi, Mio and MTM’s adventures continue! What have they achieved on their extraordinary journey to Mercury, planet of extremes and mysteries?
They haven’t been bored, that’s for sure. They snapped cool photos and collected real science data as they flew past Earth, Venus and Mercury – each planet is unique! After witnessing Venus’s blinding heat, flying through Mercury’s freezing shadow, and braving strong winds and radiation coming from the Sun, the trio know they are ready for anything.
In November 2026, the spacecraft will arrive at Mercury to stay. Bepi and Mio will orbit around the little planet to uncover all its mysteries, like: What is it made of? Does it have water? And how does its magnetic field work?
Meet the cartoon characters during their mission training
Marking one year until BepiColombo reaches Mercury
BepiColombo is a joint mission between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), executed under ESA leadership. It is Europe’s first mission to Mercury. Launched in 2018, it will arrive at Mercury in November 2026 and begin science operations in early 2027.
The European Space Agency (ESA) brings public and ESA-wide recognition of the outstanding performance of European companies working in the frame of ESA programmes and projects.
