Using cutting-edge technology, ESA’s FLEX mission is designed to reveal new insights into how plants function by measuring the faint fluorescence they emit when they capture light during photosynthesis. Although invisible to the human eye, this signal changes with environmental conditions and plant health – allowing scientists to assess vegetation health, and stress. The FLEX satellite is equipped with the Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer (FLORIS), an instrument designed specifically to detect and map this delicate glow from space.

Encrypting messages from space by taking advantage of the laws of quantum physics is the next step towards secure communications. A core technology enabling this capability has now been qualified for QKDSat, a European Space Agency (ESA) Partnership Project with Honeywell Aerospace, in collaboration with satellite prime contractor Redwire Europe. The mission will demonstrate secure pre-operational satellite-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) services.

Yesterday, on 31 August 2026, Samba reentered Earth’s atmosphere at 21:39:38 UTC / 23:39:38 CEST as the third of the four Cluster satellites. Samba had been lined up for a special 'targeted reentry' safely over the South Pacific Ocean, the precision so high that a plane could fly out from Tonga and successfully record its demise for reentry science.

After two successful spacewalks on 18 August (EVA-97) and 25 August (EVA-98), watch ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot venture into the vacuum of space for the third time on Tuesday 1 September, during EVA-99.

Rewatch the European Space Agency's 31 August 2026 online press briefing on the latest developments of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission, Europe's and Japan's first mission to Mercury.

This briefing focused on the complexities of the separation of the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), scheduled for 3 September 2026, a critical milestone marking the start of BepiColombo’s Mercury arrival phase. It also provided an overview of the operational challenges and milestones ahead, including Mercury orbit insertion in November 2026 and the separation of the two science orbiters (ESA's MPO and JAXA's Mio) in December 2026.

The briefing also provided an update

With thousands of emergency responders conducting search-and-rescue operations following the catastrophic flash flood that struck northern Nepal on 26 August, satellite imagery is helping to reveal the scale of the inundation and devastation across the affected region.

August was a busy month for ESA, between spectacular views, historic milestones and exciting new discoveries. 

From a total solar eclipse broadcast live from Spain and Sophie Adenot’s historic spacewalks, to the launch of MTG-I2 aboard Ariane 6, a breathtaking flight over Mars and a surprising discovery near our galaxy’s central black hole, here’s your monthly roundup from the European Space Agency. 

Roman will scan a large patch of the sky in visible to near-infrared light, with its wide field of view and advanced optical design. The mission will provide key insights that will help reveal the nature of dark energy and dark matter and find new exoplanets.

To achieve its science goals, Roman is equipped with a primary mirror of 2.4 m and two instruments: the Wide Field Instrument (WFI) and a Coronagraph Instrument technology demonstrator.

Roman is a NASA-led mission to which ESA contributes as a Mission of Opportunity, providing scientific expertise and guidance to maximise the mission's scientific return. ESA

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, at 07:26 EDT / 12:26 BST/ 13:26 CEST on 30 August 2026. With the successful launch, Roman began its mission to survey the sky in visible to near-infrared light to help reveal the nature of dark energy and dark matter. The telescope will also investigate the true diversity of exoplanets in our galaxy.

Roman is a NASA-led mission to which the European Space Agency (ESA) contributed star trackers, batteries, and detectors for the coronagraph instrument. ESA will also provide communications