This latest Picture of the Month from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope features Messier 77 (M77), a barred spiral galaxy famous among astronomers for its combination of relative proximity and spectacular features to study. It is located 45 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale). This new image from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) highlights its swirling spiral arms, the dust in its disc and its piercingly bright core like never before.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is using Extended Reality (XR) to support training, enhance operations, improve simulation environments, and to bring the wonders of space to the public.

In the far northern reaches of Finnish Lapland, an ambitious new chapter in Earth observation is unfolding. The European Space Agency, together with the Finnish Meteorological Institute and Finnish industrial partners, is advancing plans to develop a state-of-the-art ‘supersite’ in Sodankylä.

The plan is to equip this remote site with an array of new advanced environmental measuring technologies, including a striking high-tech airship carrying sensors to perform regional surveys.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has partnered with French video game studio DON’T NOD Entertainment on the development of Aphelion, a narrative science‑fiction game inspired by space exploration and scientic expertise.

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope together with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have looked deeply at thousands of young star clusters in four nearby galaxies, studying clusters at different stages of evolution. Their findings show that more massive star clusters emerge more quickly from the clouds they are born in, clearing away gas and filling the galaxy with ultraviolet light. The result gives us a better understanding of star formation in galaxies, as well as how and where planets can form.

Italy’s IRIDE Earth observation programme has added seven more satellites to its Hawk for Earth Observation (HEO) constellation, enhancing the strategic data it provides for Italy’s environmental, emergency and security services.

A constellation of four new satellites has been launched for Greece, marking a world first for a national satellite capability dedicated to wildfire detection and tracking. The mission is the result of cooperation between the Greek government, private satellite company OroraTech and the European Space Agency (ESA), supported through the EU-funded Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Thirteen European satellites on the same rideshare launcher have successfully reached orbit, bringing capabilities to Italian and Greek monitoring programmes as well as CubeSats that will test satellite connectivity.

Week in images: 27 April - 01 May 2026

Discover our week through the lens