Space and Mineral Mining Information

Long before humans reached orbit, insects had already shown they could handle the hurdles of spaceflight. Light, highly adaptable and nutritionally rich, these resilient animals present an attractive option for European researchers studying reliable food sources for long-duration missions.

After arriving at the California launch site at the end of September, the two HydroGNSS satellites have been carefully prepared for liftoff, scheduled this month.

HydroGNSS – a twin-satellite mission – marks the European Space Agency’s first ‘Scout’ venture. By harnessing signals from navigation satellites, HydroGNSS will help scientists gain new insights into key climate variables linked to water.

This shimmering view of interstellar gas and dust was captured by the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope. The nebula is part of a so-called dark cloud, named LDN 1641. It sits at about 1300 light-years from Earth, within a sprawling complex of dusty gas clouds where stars are being formed, in the constellation of Orion.

In visible light this region of the sky appears mostly dark, with few stars dotting what seems to be a primarily empty background. But, by imaging the cloud with the infrared eyes of its NISP instrument, Euclid reveals a multitude of stars shining through a tapestry of dust and gas.

This is because dust grains block visible light from stars behind them very efficiently but are much less effective at dimming near-infrared light.

The nebula is teeming with very young stars. Some of the objects embedded in the dusty surroundings spew out material – a sign of stars being formed. The outflows appear as magenta-coloured spots and coils when zooming into the image.

In the upper left, obstruction by dust diminishes and the view opens toward the more distant Universe with many galaxies lurking beyond the stars of our own galaxy.

Euclid observed this region of the sky in September 2023 to fine-tune its pointing ability. For the guiding tests, the operations team required a field of view where only a few stars would be detectable in visible light; this portion of LDN 1641 proved to be the most suitable area of the sky accessible to Euclid at the time.

The tests were successful and helped ensure that Euclid could point reliably and very precisely in the desired direction. This ability is key to delivering extremely sharp astronomical images of large patches of sky, at a fast pace. The data for this image, which is about 0.64 square degrees in size – or more than three times the area of the full Moon on the sky – were collected in just under five hours of observations.

Euclid is surveying the sky to create the most extensive 3D map of the extragalactic Universe ever made. Its main objective is to enable scientists to pin down the mysterious nature of dark matter and dark energy.

Yet the mission will also deliver a trove of observations of interesting regions in our galaxy, like this one, as well as countless detailed images of other galaxies, offering new avenues of investigation in many different fields of astronomy.

[Technical details: The colour image was created from NISP observations in the Y-, J- and H-bands, rendered blue, green and red, respectively. The size of the image is 11 232 x 12 576 pixels. The jagged boundary is due to the gaps in the array of NISP’s sixteen detectors, and the way the observations were taken with small spatial offsets and rotations to create the whole image. This is a common effect in astronomical wide-field images.]

[Image description: The focus of the image is a portion of LDN 1641, an interstellar nebula in the constellation of Orion. In this view, a deep-black background is sprinkled with a multitude of dots (stars) of different sizes and shades of bright white. Across the sea of stars, a web of fuzzy tendrils and ribbons in varying shades of orange and brown rises from the bottom of the image towards the top-right like thin coils of smoke.]

The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite has joined the Sentinel-1 mission in orbit. Launch took place on 4 November 2025 at 22:02 CET (18:02 local time) on board an Ariane 6 launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The Sentinel-1 mission delivers high-resolution radar images of Earth’s surface, performing in all weathers, day-and-night. This service is used by disaster response teams, environmental agencies, maritime authorities and climate scientists, who depend on frequent updates of critical data.

Sentinel-1D will work in tandem with Sentinel-1C, flying in the same orbit but 180° apart, to optimise global coverage and data delivery. Both satellites have a C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument on board, which captures high-resolution imagery of Earth’s surface. They are also equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS) instruments to improve detection and tracking of ships. When Sentinel-1D is fully operational, it will enable more frequent AIS observations, including data on vessel identity, location and direction of passage, enabling precise tracking.

Sentinel-1D was launched on Europe’s heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6 on flight designated VA265. 

Read full story: Copernicus Sentinel-1D reaches orbit on Ariane 6

Access the related broadcast quality video material: Sentinel-1D launch on Ariane 6 - VA265 / Sentinel-1 mission animations

The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite has joined the Sentinel-1 mission in orbit. Launch took place on 4 November 2025 at 22:03 CET (18:03 local time) on board an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. 

The Sentinel-1 mission delivers high-resolution radar images of Earth’s surface, performing in all weathers, day-and-night. This service is used by disaster response teams, environmental agencies, maritime authorities and climate scientists, who depend on frequent updates of critical data.

The Sentinel-1D satellite will work in tandem with Sentinel-1C, flying in the same orbit but 180° apart, to optimise global coverage and data delivery. Both satellites have a C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument on board, which captures high-resolution imagery of Earth’s surface. They are also equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS) instruments to improve detection and tracking of ships. When Sentinel-1D is fully operational, it will enable more frequent AIS observations, including data on vessel identity, location and direction of passage, enabling precise tracking.

Sentinel-1D was launched on Europe’s heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6 on flight designated VA265. 

Read full story: Copernicus Sentinel-1D reaches orbit on Ariane 6

Access the related broadcast quality video material: Sentinel-1D launch on Ariane 6 - VA265 / Sentinel-1 mission animations

The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite has joined the Sentinel-1 mission in orbit. Launch took place on 4 November 2025 at 22:03 CET (18:03 local time) on board an Ariane 6 launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The Sentinel-1 mission delivers high-resolution radar images of Earth’s surface, performing in all weathers, day-and-night. This service is used by disaster response teams, environmental agencies, maritime authorities and climate scientists, who depend on frequent updates of critical data.

Sentinel-1D will work in tandem with Sentinel-1C, flying in the same orbit but 180° apart, to optimise global coverage and data delivery. Both satellites have a C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument on board, which captures high-resolution imagery of Earth’s surface. They are also equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS) instruments to improve detection and tracking of ships. When Sentinel-1D is fully operational, it will enable more frequent AIS observations, including data on vessel identity, location and direction of passage, enabling precise tracking.

Sentinel-1D was launched on Europe’s heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6 on flight designated VA265. 

Read full story: Copernicus Sentinel-1D reaches orbit on Ariane 6

From 7 to 10 October 2025, Europe and Africa took another important step toward deepening their cooperation in space. At the ESA Education Training and Learning Facility in ESEC-Galaxia, Belgium, young engineers from across both continents came together for the Space Systems Engineering Training Course, jointly supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the African Space Agency (AfSA).

Space is within reach! The European Space Agency is inviting students to apply for its 2026 Student Internship Programme. Whether you're into engineering, science, IT, business, economics or social sciences, there’s a place for you among the stars.

Step into half a century of space innovation and join a global leader in the industry. Collaborate with seasoned professionals, contribute to groundbreaking projects and begin shaping your future in the space sector. 

Week in images: 27-31 October 2025

Discover our week through the lens

What began with tragedy ended in triumph. This is the untold story of the European Space Agency’s pioneering 25-year Cluster mission to study how invisible solar storms impact Earth's environment.

Like a ship in a never-ending storm, Earth is bombarded by swarms of particles ejected from the Sun at supersonic speeds. Most of these solar wind particles are deflected by the magnetosphere and sail harmlessly by, but Earth’s shield is not bulletproof.

Since 2000, Cluster sailed the seas of the Sun and revealed the complexities of the Sun–Earth connection. After two-and-a-half incredibly successful decades in space, ESA took the decision to safely deorbit the four Cluster satellites throughout 2024–2026. The mission officially ended on 8 September 2024.

But a space mission is so much more than science. Experience Cluster’s story as told by the people who lived it: scientists and engineers Arnoud Masson, C. Philippe Escoubet, Gill Watson, Gunther Lautenschläger, Lean-Nani Alconcel, Bruno Sousa, Paulo Ferri, Patrick W. Daly, Mandred Warhaut, Silvia Sanvido and Jolene S. Pickett.

The film was produced by Space Rocks for the European Space Agency. It features an original soundtrack by Karlotta Skagfield and additional music by Bruce Dickinson.

See the film poster

Listen to the podcast series about the film

More information about the film from Space Rocks

Follow the online briefing on the launch scheduled for 4 November 2025. The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission delivers radar images of Earth’s surface. It is vital for disaster response teams, environmental agencies, maritime authorities, climate scientists.

Four teams from different countries have been recognised for their breakthrough work in using artificial intelligence to detect earthquake damage from space, marking the conclusion of a global competition organised by the European Space Agency in collaboration with the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ – commonly referred to as ‘the Charter’.

The European Space Agency’s upcoming Henon mission will be the first ever CubeSat to independently venture into deep space, communicate with Earth and manoeuvre to its final destination without relying on a bigger spacecraft. Once in its orbit around the Sun, the carry-on luggage-sized CubeSat will observe the Sun’s emissions to demonstrate technologies capable of providing advanced warnings of solar storms hours before they reach Earth.

The role of space for security was presented at a high-level event in Brussels on Tuesday.

The European Space Agency has announced it is establishing a new presence in Tokyo, Japan, its first in Asia.

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission is about to get its fourth satellite, with Sentinel-1D now ready for liftoff. Launch will take place with an Ariane 6 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana and live coverage will be shown on Tuesday, 4 November, at 22:02 CET (18:02 at Kourou).

Week in images: 20-24 October 2025

Discover our week through the lens

The European Space Agency’s Council at Ministerial Level is the time for bold vision and decisive action. In November, ESA’s Member States, Associate States, and Cooperating States will unite to elevate Europe’s role in space and secure its continued leadership for the benefit of citizens.

At the heart of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes stands FutureEO – a driving force for innovation and excellence across satellite missions, Earth system science and Earth action, all in pursuit of a more sustainable and resilient future.

Designed to anticipate and address the challenges of tomorrow, FutureEO is poised to enter a new era of growth, ambition and global impact.

The Republic of Cyprus has signed an Associate Agreement with the European Space Agency, and is expected to become an Associate Member in the coming months.  

From dew at dawn to a foggy mirror after a shower, condensation is part of our daily lives on Earth. In space, microgravity alters how heat flows through gases and liquids, a potential enemy for spacecraft electronics needing to cool down in extreme environments.

The congestion and pollution of Earth orbit is quickly getting worse. We need to be able to quantify how our behaviour impacts the orbital environment in the future. To this end, the European Space Agency (ESA) is adding a new health index to its yearly Space Environment Report that summarises in one number the status of our space environment over time.

Better in-flight streaming and video-calling might just become more accessible thanks to a project supported by the European Space Agency (ESA). Building upon the success of an experiment for a new type of antenna terminal together with ESA, Viasat – a global leader in satellite communications – now plans to commercialise its new in-flight connectivity solution called Viasat Amara.

Are you ready to take your first step into the space sector? The countdown has begun for the launch of the European Space Agency's 2026 Student Internship Programme, and you could be part of it. Applications open the first week of November.