Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have captured compelling evidence of a planet with a mass similar to Saturn orbiting the young nearby star TWA 7.

If confirmed, this would represent Webb’s first direct image discovery of a planet, and the lightest planet ever seen with this technique.

ESA is leading efforts to embed Earth observation data into more effective and resilient development financing. It is doing so in partnership with international financial institutions through its Global Development Assistance (GDA) programme. This topic was discussed today at ESA’s Living Planet Symposium.

As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, the ocean plays a crucial role in helping to reduce the full impact of human-driven climate change by absorbing roughly a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity. However, this uptake is far from uniform across the global ocean. A new satellite-based product can now map the ocean carbon sink at unprecedented resolution, offering unique insights into this highly variable and complex component of Earth’s climate system. 

Lux Aeterna has emerged from stealth with $4 million in pre-seed funding to develop a fully reusable satellite slated to launch in 2027, equipped with a heat shield and parachute for safe atmospheric reentry and landing.

ESA’s week-long Living Planet Symposium in Austria is over halfway through, gathering thousands of attendees to explore the latest breakthroughs in Earth science and space technologies. In addition to in-depth coverage on specific themes from the symposium, we also bring you the following 'extras’: six New Space companies formally join Copernicus, ESA and UN-Habitat strengthen ties, and ESA and JAXA sign a Framework Agreement on climate collaboration.  

At issue is the Trump administration’s proposal to cut roughly $130 million from the NRO’s commercial imagery procurement budget for fiscal 2026