London, UK (SPX) Dec 12, 2025
Researchers at the University of Leicester are leading work to develop what they describe as the UKs first in space robotic welding capability, supported by new funding from the UK Space Agencys National Space Innovation Programme Call 2 for a project known as ISPARK, the Intelligent SPace Arc welding Robotic Kit. The ISPARK programme, valued at 560,000 pounds including 485,000 pounds from

Image: Following International Mountain Day, which creates awareness of the importance of mountain environments around the world, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Pariacaca Mountain Range in Peru.

Video: 00:22:19

Step inside astronaut training with ESA astronaut Pablo Álvarez Fernández as he shares his training journey from Cologne in Germany to Houston in the US. Discover what it’s like to wear a 145 kg spacesuit underwater, train for emergencies like fires and ammonia leaks and prepare for the ultimate astronaut dream: a spacewalk. Plus, Pablo talks about life in Houston, teamwork under pressure and what’s next on his path to the stars. 

This interview was recorded in December 2024. 

You can listen to this episode on all major podcast platforms. 

Keep exploring with ESA Explores!

Video: 00:12:24

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) is on an epic eight-year journey to Jupiter. It left Earth in April 2023 and is due to arrive at the gas giant in 2031. 

2025 has been another big year for Juice. It made its closest approach to the Sun and flew close by Venus for a gravity boost to help it on its way. This second episode of ‘The journey of Juice’ takes us on a journey of our own, discovering what Juice – and the humans behind it – have experienced this year. 

In a clean room at ESA’s technical centre, thermal engineer Romain Peyrou-Lauge shows us the technologies that protect

Air travellers will shrink their carbon footprint while reducing flight delays worldwide, thanks to a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA), satellite operator Viasat and aerospace company Boeing. Flights to test the space-based technology with new aviation standards from and to the USA and Europe took place in late October and early November.

The European Space Agency’s Swarm mission detected a large but temporary spike of high-energy protons at Earth’s poles during a geomagnetic storm in November. It did this not with the scientific instruments for measuring Earth’s magnetic field, but with its ‘star tracker’ positioning instruments – a first for the Swarm mission.

ESA Highlights 2025