for future low‑altitude missions, reducing reliance on traditional propellant stores. Air‑breathing space mission Credit: ESA Why Operating Closer to Earth Matters A VLEO platform sits much nearer to the planet’s surface, allowing imaging sensors to...

the same patch of sky through three complementary lenses. X-ray: NASA/CXC/Ohio State Univ./J. Rodriguez et al; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/P. Edmonds How the Three Observatories Complement One...

light known as a gamma-ray burst: a supernova that exploded when the Universe was only 730 million years old. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Levan (IMAPP), Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI) Webb Captures the Fading Light Because the expansion of the...

is also a barred spiral, feeds its central black hole and forms new stars. Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/Hubble Heritage Team; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/J. Lee and T. Williams; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare,...

far side of its accretion disk into the field of view of a distant observer. Light echoes from behind a black hole. (CREDIT: ESA) Led by scientists from Stanford University and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the research team utilized data...

global asteroid monitoring networks. Global Coordination Leads to Successful Tracking According to the European Space Agency (ESA), which tracked the object under the provisional name CERNQ52, the asteroid’s entry was accurately predicted for 16:07 UTC....

Scientists tracked two ESA satellites burning through Earth’s atmosphere, capturing rare, high-stakes data on spacecraft reentry and atmospheric interactions. Researchers have successfully executed one of the most high-definition observation campaigns...

a full functional test in a laboratory setting in 2016, shortly before it was integrated with the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO). Having survived the rigors of launch and eight years of travel through the harsh conditions...

period that occurred approximately 41,000 years ago. This sonic reconstruction, unveiled by the European Space Agency (ESA), captures the fluctuations of the so-called Laschamps event, a time when our planet’s protective shield underwent a dramatic and...

light known as a gamma-ray burst: a supernova that exploded when the Universe was only 730 million years old. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Levan (IMAPP), Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI) Following the X-ray detection by the Chinese-European...

to volcanic glass like obsidian. Silica levels reveal whether impacts involved Mars-sized or Moon-sized bodies. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) The remaining two-thirds of the sample consist of silica-poor disks. These indicate...

called extreme debris disks may reveal how similar impacts shaped early Earth and led to the Moon’s formation. (CREDIT: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted /STScI) Categorizing the aftermath of cosmic impacts Extreme debris disks are characterized by an...

whose location is shown by the white cross. They found it is a small dwarf galaxy actively forming stars. (CREDIT: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Themiya Nanayakkara (USYD); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)) Unlocking a Cosmic Distance Record The...

re-entry remain subject to the fluctuating influence of solar weather and orbital mechanics. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO and ESA/XMM-Newton; UV: NASA/Penn State Univ/Swift and NASA/CAS/CNES/John Hoplins Univ. Applied Physics Laboratory; Optical:...

spectrometer, as well as the Mars Global Surveyor laser altimeter. The architectural evidence includes an arc of elevated mesas and terraced depressions that appear consistent with ancient, collapsed calderas. The complex is estimated to be roughly 250...

by intricate, rust-colored dust lanes and pockets of bright, star-forming regions. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: ESA A Closer Look at Cosmic Structure Captured by the telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, the image highlights the complex...

including two from 670 million years after the Big Bang, shedding light on early black holes and galaxy formation. The ESA Euclid mission has added 31 previously unknown quasars to the cosmic record, among them two objects that now hold the title of the...

up to 1,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit. During this demonstration flight, the vehicle successfully deployed five CubeSats and a dedicated technology experiment, all sourced through a German Aerospace Center competition. Strengthening Sovereign...

as a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency. With NASA stepping back, questions arise about whether ESA could pursue some version of the mission independently. Meanwhile, China has announced plans for its own Mars sample return mission....

also challenge the idea that small rocky planets stop changing early in their history. What BepiColombo May Reveal The joint ESA and JAXA BepiColombo mission is on its way to Mercury and will begin full science operations in late 2026. It will provide...