Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 30, 2025
NASA has formally expanded its Launch Services (NLS) II contract with SpaceX, headquartered in Starbase, Texas, to include the company's Starship launch system alongside the previously contracted Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. The NLS II contract framework enables NASA to procure commercial launch capabilities for a wide array of missions, including planetary exploration, Earth science

Week in images: 24-28 March 2025

Discover our week through the lens

Video: 00:15:30

Meet Arnaud Prost—aerospace engineer, professional diver, and member of ESA’s Astronaut Reserve. From flying aircraft to getting a taste of spacewalk simulation, his passion for exploration knows no bounds.

In this miniseries, we take you on a journey through the ESA Astronaut Reserve, diving into the first part of their Astronaut Reserve Training (ART) at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) near Cologne, Germany. Our “ARTists” are immersing themselves in everything from ESA and the International Space Station programme to the European space industry and institutions. They’re gaining hands-on experience in technical skills like spacecraft systems and robotics, alongside

Video: 00:05:23

For over a decade, ESA’s Gaia mission has mapped our galaxy with stunning precision—rewriting the story of the Milky Way. As its mission enters a new phase, we look back at its most groundbreaking discoveries.

Plainsboro NJ (SPX) Mar 26, 2025
When the plasma inside a fusion system starts to misbehave, it needs to be quickly cooled to prevent damage to the device. Researchers at Commonwealth Fusion Systems believe the best bet is a massive gas injection: essentially, a well-timed, rapid blast of cooling gas inside their fusion system, which is known as SPARC. But how many gas valves does it take to quickly tame a plasma that is hotter

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the striking landscape surrounding the Waza National Park in Cameroon.

The first image from a new Italian Earth observation satellite mission was published today: a high-resolution image of a strip of the Italian peninsular showing the city of Rome at a resolution of 2.66 metres. This is three times higher than the resolution currently available for systematic acquisition over Italy.

Paris, France (SPX) Mar 26, 2025
On Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 6:15 a.m. local time (09:15 a.m. UTC, 11:15 a.m. CEST), Arianespace will launch ESA's Biomass Earth Explorer satellite aboard a Vega C rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Designated flight VV26, the mission aims to deliver the satellite into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit approximately 666 kilometers above Earth. The satellite will separate from the launcher