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Group photo taken at the General Assembly on Defence, Space and Cybersecurity, held on Friday 12 September 2025, at ESRIN, ESA’s Centre for Earth Observation Programmes in Italy. 

The event was organised by the European Parliament and the European Commission, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, to promote dialogue between European and national decision-makers and industry leaders. Representatives from major European entities debated the future of the European Union, which is facing unprecedented challenges, in an increasingly complex geopolitical context. Participants examined Europe’s needs in key sectors such as space, cybersecurity, and defence, within the broader context of the

Week in images: 08-12 September 2025

Discover our week through the lens

Today, the Columbus laboratory aboard the International Space Station completes its 100 000th orbit around Earth—a remarkable achievement for Europe’s science module in space. 

Since its launch in 2008, Columbus has been a hub of research and innovation, orbiting at 28 800 km/h and approximately 400 km above Earth. Over the course of 6427 days, it has travelled more than 4.26 billion kilometres, hosted astronauts from over 20 countries, and supported hundreds of experiments that explore everything from human health to advanced materials.

Image: Part of the Gibson Desert in Western Australia is featured in this image, captured by the Φsat-2 mission in June 2025.

The European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft has safely arrived at ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands. There, engineers will complete the spacecraft by connecting its solar panels and sunshield, and carry out a series of critical tests to confirm that Plato is fit for launch and ready for its planet-hunting mission in space.

The fourth satellite for the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, Sentinel-1D, has arrived at Félix Eboué airport, the main airport in French Guiana. From there the spacecraft, safely stored in its protective casing, will be transported to launch preparation facilities at the European Spaceport in Kourou.

New York (AFP) Sept 10, 2025
Billionaire Elon Musk is at risk of losing his title as the world's wealthiest person to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, whose software giant appears poised for massive AI riches through a major deal with OpenAI. Ellison, 81, amassed about $95 billion in additional wealth Wednesday as Oracle shares skyrocketed after the nearly 50-year-old company forecast massive revenue growth thanks to la

Paris, France (SPX) Sep 11, 2025
Organic molecules discovered in the geyser-like plumes erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus may form when surface ices are exposed to radiation, rather than originating in its hidden subsurface ocean, according to new research presented at the EPSC-DPS2025 Joint Meeting in Helsinki. Dr Grace Richards of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziale (INAF) explained that wh

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 11, 2025
A decade after scientists first detected gravitational waves, researchers have now recorded the clearest evidence yet of how black holes behave, confirming foundational predictions from Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. The findings stem from a black hole merger observed by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and analyzed by astrophysicists Maximiliano Isi and Will