Image: Ariane 6 Central Core being transferred from the launcher assembly building to the launch pad

There is an increasing willingness in the space sector to tackle the problem of space debris. Yet much of the required technology to mitigate or prevent its risks is still missing.

Preventing new debris, avoiding collisions and the timely clearance of satellites from orbit at their end-of-mission are complex challenges that each require a variety of practical solutions.

Released to the public on 15 January 2025, the Zero Debris Technical Booklet is a community-driven document that identifies technologies that will contribute to the goal of Zero Debris by 2030. Essentially, the Booklet forms a technical Zero Debris 'to-do list'.

Image: The best Milky Way map, by Gaia (artist impression)

Image: The best Milky Way map, by Gaia (artist impression, edge-on)

Video: 00:02:05

This is a new artist’s animation of our galaxy, the Milky Way, based on data from ESA’s Gaia space telescope.

Gaia has changed our impression of the Milky Way. Even seemingly simple ideas about the nature of our galaxy’s central bar and the spiral arms have been overturned. Gaia has shown us that it has more than two spiral arms and that they are less prominent than we previously thought. In addition, Gaia has shown that its central bar is more inclined with respect to the Sun.

No spacecraft can travel beyond our galaxy, so we can’t take a selfie, but Gaia

The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed its first exploration data buy agreement with Hungarian company Puli Space Technologies, whose neutron spectrometer will study water ice in the Moon's south pole region and provide the first direct surface measurements from a permanently shadowed crater. Through this partnership, ESA will obtain data from the spectrometer, which will fly on Intuitive Machines' second lunar mission. 

Last night a crucial step in the European Space Agency’s eclipse-making Proba-3 mission was completed: the two spacecraft, flying jointly since launch, have successfully separated. This leaves them ready to begin their cosmic dance in the world’s first-ever precision formation-flying mission.

Paris, France (SPX) Jan 15, 2025
Three satellites from ESA's InCubed programme have launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, demonstrating the agency's commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration in the commercial space sector. The InCubed initiative, which stands for 'Investing in Industrial Innovation,' is managed by ESA's Pi-lab and focuses on advancing commercially viable technologies that lever