The European Space Agency’s first Scout mission, HydroGNSS, was launched today, 28 November, marking a significant step in advancing global understanding of water availability and the effects of climate change on Earth’s water cycle.
The two twin HydroGNSS satellites were carried into orbit at 19:44 CET aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, as part of the Transporter-15 rideshare flight from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
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ESA’s first Scout mission, HydroGNSS, was launched on 28 November 2025, marking a significant step in advancing global understanding of water availability and the effects of climate change on Earth’s water cycle.
The two twin HydroGNSS satellites were carried into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US.
Embracing the New Space concept, HydroGNSS is one of ESA’s new Scout missions being developed within the Earth Observation FutureEO programme.
Week in images: 24-28 November 2025
Discover our week through the lens
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The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures a spectacular geological wonder in the Sahara Desert of Mauritania: the Richat Structure.
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Watch the replay of the press conference held at the conclusion of ESA’s Ministerial Council 2025 (CM25) in Bremen, Germany. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, as well as the hosting minister and the CM25 chair, present the outcome of this high-level meeting that took place on 26 and 27 November.
The largest contributions in the history of the European Space Agency, €22.1 bn, have been approved at its Council meeting at Ministerial level in Bremen, Germany.
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Ministers and high-level representatives gather for ESA’s Ministerial Council
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.
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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.