Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures the meandering course of the Likouala-aux-Herbes river in the Republic of the Congo.

Week in images: 20-24 October 2025

Discover our week through the lens

Last year, ESA invited innovators across Europe to join the second Space Resources Challenge, a competition designed to accelerate technologies that will help humankind live and work sustainably on the Moon.

Last week, that challenge culminated in a field test lasting several days at the ESA-DLR LUNA facility in Cologne, Germany, where eight teams demonstrated robotic systems capable of collecting and processing lunar soil, known as regolith. The participating teams came from six countries—Canada, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland and the United Kingdom—highlighting the global collaboration driving forward lunar exploration.

The United States’ goal of completing a crewed moon mission before China has been coined as the new space race, reminiscent of the days of Apollo.

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 25, 2025
NASA's Exploration Ground Systems team has completed the stacking and integration of the Lockheed Martin-developed Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 at Kennedy Space Center. The operation took place on October 19, marking a significant milestone as the agencies prepare for the crewed Artemis II mission to the Moon. Electrical, data,