
ESA Top Multimedia
Themis wrapped up and ready to go

Timelapse of Europe’s first reusable rocket main stage demonstrator – Themis – getting wrapped and prepared for shipment, ready to head to its launch pad at Esrange Space Centre in Sweden.
Themis encompasses all the elements for a reusable rocket stage. The Themis programme includes developing the flight test model that requires new technologies from European countries such as the vehicle landing legs, grid-fin aerodynamic stabilisers, light-weight fuel tanks, distributed power systems, avionics and reduced-diameter multi-engine bay. New flight algorithms, derived from previous European projects, will be key to make Themis land safely after flight.
Themis was developed as a European Space Agency future launchers preparatory programme with ArianeGroup as prime contractor and multiple European industrial partners. Themis’s first flight campaign is being funded by the European Commission Salto programme.
Plato’s eyes meet brain

On 11 June, engineers at OHB’s facilities in Germany joined together the two main parts of ESA’s Plato mission.
They used a special crane to lift Plato’s payload module, housing its 26 ultra-sensitive cameras, into the air and carefully line it up over the service module. The supporting service module contains everything else that the spacecraft needs to function, including subsystems for power, propulsion and communication with Earth.
With millimetre-level precision, the engineers gently lowered the payload module into place. Once perfectly positioned, the team tested the electrical connections.
Finally, they securely closed a panel that connects the payload module to the service module both physically and electronically (seen ‘hanging’ horizontally above the service module in this image). This panel, which opens and closes with hinges, also contains the electronics to process data from the cameras.
Now in one piece, Plato is one step closer to beginning its hunt for Earth-like planets.
In the coming weeks, the spacecraft will undergo tests to ensure its cameras and data processing systems still work perfectly.
Then it will be driven from OHB’s cleanrooms to ESA’s technical heart (ESTEC) in the Netherlands. At ESTEC, engineers will complete the spacecraft by fitting it with a combined sunshield and solar panel module.
Following a series of essential tests to confirm that Plato is fit for launch and ready to work in space, it will be shipped to Europe’s launch site in French Guiana.
The mission is scheduled to launch on an Ariane 6 in December 2026.
Access the related broadcast quality video footage.
ESA’s Plato (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) will use 26 cameras to study terrestrial exoplanets in orbits up to the habitable zone of Sun-like stars.
Plato's scientific instrumentation, consisting of the cameras and electronic units, is provided through a collaboration between ESA and the Plato Mission Consortium. This Consortium is composed of various European research centres, institutes and industries, led by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The spacecraft is being built and assembled by the industrial Plato Core Team led by OHB together with Thales Alenia Space and Beyond Gravity.
A new adventure on the International Space Station

Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA head of Space and Robotic Exploration, explains that Ignis mission will include an ambitious technological and scientific programme with several experiments led by ESA and proposed by the Polish space industry.
On 26 June 2025, ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and his crewmates arrived to the International Space Station on the Axiom-4 mission (Ax-4).
The Polish project astronaut is the second of a new generation of European astronauts to fly on a commercial human spaceflight opportunity with Axiom Space.
Copernicus Sentinel-4 view of nitrogen dioxide

This animation shows how the Copernicus Sentinel-4 ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared (UVN) spectrometer, mounted on the Meteosat Third Generation Sounder satellite (MTG-S1), is able to observe nitrogen dioxide over Europe and northern Africa (NO2 data kindly provided by CAMS).
Nitrogen dioxide is a trace gas that forms in our atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned.
The UVN spectrometer, on board MTG-S1, orbits Earth in a geostationary orbit. It is the first mission to monitor European air quality from this orbit, which means it maintains its position – at 36 000 km from Earth’s surface – over the equator as the Earth rotates.
The instrument measures sunlight reflected by Earth’s surface and atmosphere, as well as light arriving both directly from the Sun. When light passes through the atmosphere, trace gases leave a signature, or ‘fingerprint’, on the light arriving at the satellite. These signatures are resolved by the UVN spectrometer and are exploited to estimate the amount of the trace gases present in the atmosphere.
Asteroid 2024 YR4: from discovery to potential lunar impact

This animation demonstrates why the asteroid 2024 YR4 was only discovered two days after it passed Earth in December 2024, and why we will have to wait three years to know for certain whether it will impact the Moon on 22 December 2032.
2024 YR4 approached Earth from the day side of the planet, from a region of the sky hidden by the bright light of the Sun. This region is a significant blind spot for our current asteroid warning systems.
In mid-2025, it faded from view from humankind’s most powerful telescopes. While astronomers were able to study the asteroid for long enough to rule out an Earth impact in 2032, it was left with a 4% chance of impacting the Moon.
The orbits of Earth and 2024 YR4 line up every four years, and so we must now wait until mid-2028 for astronomers to continue studying its trajectory. When the asteroid returns into view, they will be able to confirm, or much more likely, rule out a lunar impact in 2032.
The yellow area represents the region where the brightness of the Sun makes it impossible to observe an asteroid. The blue area represents the region in which it is possible to observe an asteroid. The black area represents the region in which an asteroid is too faint to observe. The exact shape and size of these areas depends on the telescope being used. The regions shown here are representative of a generic, powerful, Earth-based, optical telescope. The red line indicates the trajectory of asteroid 2024 YR4 during three encounters with Earth in 2024, 2028 and 2032.
The animation was created using the Synodic Orbit Visualisation Tool developed by ESA’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre. The tool allows users to visualise the orbits of near-Earth objects (NEOs) in a rotating reference frame that keeps a line connecting Earth and the Sun fixed in place. The primary purpose of the tool is to help users determine when and how an NEO will be visible from Earth.
Ax-4 joins the International Space Station

On 26 June 2025 ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and his crewmates arrived to the International Space Station on the Axiom-4 mission (Ax-4).
The Polish project astronaut is the second of a new generation of European astronauts to fly on a commercial human spaceflight opportunity with Axiom Space.
Sponsored by the Polish government and supported by ESA, the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology (MRiT), and the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), the mission will include an ambitious technological and scientific programme with several experiments led by ESA and proposed by the Polish space industry.
Access the related broadcast quality footage: Launch campaign / Training
Tango – a Scout mission to measure greenhouse gases

The Tango Scout mission comprises two 25-kg satellites orbiting in tandem. One of the satellites will measure methane and carbon dioxide, and one will measure nitrogen dioxide. Tango will monitor 150–300 known large industrial facilities and power plants every four days, delivering high-resolution images of emission plumes as well as the surrounding pollution.
Part of ESA’s FutureEO programme, the Scout missions complement the Earth Explorer missions. However, this family of missions embraces the New Space era. Defined by rapid development and low-cost, each Scout mission must be delivered within three years from kick-off to launch and within a budget of just €35 million.
Fire and deforestation linked

The combination of long-term, high-resolution satellite datasets from ESA’s Climate Change Initiative is offering unprecedented insights into the South American Gran Chaco – one of the world’s most endangered dry forest ecosystems. These advanced observations reveal, in striking detail, how fire is accelerating widespread deforestation across the region. The animation shows high-resolution land cover and fire maps from satellites from1990 to 2019 over the Gran Chaco in South America. Notice the clear and repeated pattern: deforestation regularly precedes fire in the same location one or two years later. The shapes and timing match with striking precision – suggesting a human influence.
Read full story: Satellite records expose fire driving Gran Chaco transformation
Protecting coastlines

While satellites have revolutionised our ability to measure sea level with remarkable precision, their data becomes less reliable near coasts – where accurate information is most urgently needed. To address this critical gap, ESA’s Climate Change Initiative Sea Level Project research team has reprocessed almost two decades of satellite data to establish a pioneering network of ‘virtual’ coastal stations. These stations now provide, for the first time, reliable and consistent sea-level measurements along coastlines.
Read full story: First sea-level records for coastal community protection
The Sun and its corona viewed by Proba-2, Proba-3 and SOHO

Solar corona viewed by Proba-3’s ASPIICS

Solar corona viewed by Proba-3’s ASPIICS

Solar corona viewed by Proba-3’s ASPIICS

Proba-3’s artificial solar eclipse

SPICE sees the Sun's south pole

Solar Orbiter's view of the Sun's south pole
SPICE sees movement at the Sun's south pole

Solar Orbiter's world-first views of the Sun's south pole

PHI's pole-to-pole view of the Sun's magnetic field
Why Solar Orbiter is angling towards the Sun's poles

PHI sees mixed-up magnetism at the Sun's south pole
Since 2025, Solar Orbiter is the first Sun-watching spacecraft to ever get a clear look at the Sun's poles. It discovered that at the south pole, the Sun’s magnetic field is currently a mess.
This image shows a magnetic field map from Solar Orbiter's Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) instrument, centred on the Sun's south pole. Blue indicates positive magnetic field, pointing towards the spacecraft, and red indicates negative magnetic field.
There are clear blue and red patches visible right up to the Sun's south pole, indicating that there are different magnetic polarities present (north and south). This happens only for a short time during each solar cycle, at solar maximum, when the Sun’s magnetic field flips and is at its most active. After the field flip, a single magnetic polarity should slowly build up and take over the Sun’s poles.
Solar Orbiter will be watching the Sun throughout its calming-down phase. In 5–6 years from now, the Sun will reach its next solar minimum, during which its magnetic field is at its most orderly and the Sun has the lowest levels of activity.
Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and NASA. Solar Orbiter's Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) instrument is led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Germany.
[Image description: This image shows a magnetic map of the Sun's south pole filled with small red and blue dots scattered across a pale-yellow background. The red and blue colours represent opposite magnetic polarities on the Sun. A set of lines – indicating solar longitude – radiate outward from Sun's south pole near the centre of the image, like spokes on a wheel, dividing the circle into sections.]
Vega-C liftoff in slow-mo

ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).
In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.
Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.
Up close and loud: Vega-C liftoff with Biomass

ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).
In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.
Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.
Vega-C takes Biomass to the sky

ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite has launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).
In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.
Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.
Biomass launch highlights

ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).
In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.
Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.
Press conference: Biomass launch on Vega-C

Watch the replay of the press conference following the launch of ESA's Biomass satellite aboard the Vega-C rocket from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou on 29 April 2025.
In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.
Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.
Replay: Biomass launch coverage

ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).
In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.
Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.
ESA’s Biomass mission launches on Vega-C

ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite has launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).
In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the radar signal can slice through the whole forest layer to measure the ‘biomass’, meaning the woody trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon.
Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.
Biomass on Vega-C launch pad gantry retraction

A view from the launch pad with Vega-C flight VV26 ready for liftoff as the mobile building that surrounds the rocket rolls away to reveal the rocket to the skies, 29 April 2025. On the rocket is ESA’s Biomass mission.
The mobile building allows Vega-C’s four stages to be assembled on the launch pad in security and offers protection from the elements. The 50-metre high structure weighs over 1000 tonnes, and a hydraulic system drives wheels on an 80-m rail track. The gantry is powered by two electric motors of some 70 kW capacity, these operate the hydraulic pumps supplying pressurised oil to six wheels.
Biomass is one of ESA’s Earth Explorer missions and, like other Earth Explorers, it uses advanced space technology to provide new data. Biomass will advance our understanding of forests and their importance in the carbon cycle and climate.
We already know that forests play a vital role in Earth’s carbon cycle by absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide. This helps to regulate the planet’s temperature. Data from Biomass will help us produce more accurate estimates of how much carbon is contained in forests' organic matter, or biomass, and reduce uncertainties in carbon stock and flux estimates, including those related to land-use change, forest loss, and regrowth.
Deployment of ΦINIX-1 Drag Sail following Vibration test

Drag sails are a cost-effective and reliable method for accelerating the deorbit of small satellites, especially CubeSats, at the end of their mission lifetime. This video showcases the deployment of the ΦINIX-1 engineering qualification model drag sail following a rigorous vibration test.
Designed and developed by ΦINIX-1, a student team from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, this lightweight, compact, and deployable sail is integrated into a CubeSat. The drag sail was subjected to vibration loads mimicking the harsh environment expected during launch, one of the most critical phases for any mechanism.
Captured at the ESA’s CubeSat Support Facility (CSF), this sped-up video was recorded during the March 2025 test window of ESA’s Fly Your Satellite! Test Opportunities. This programme offers student teams support with the preparation and execution of environmental testing of their student-designed and built hardware through dedicated access to the CSF.
The video provides a detailed look at the deployment process, highlighting the technical prowess and innovative design of the drag sail. This testing phase marked a significant milestone for the team, offering valuable hands-on experience.
The ΦINIX-1 project perfectly aligns with international efforts to safeguard space from debris. Earth's orbit is becoming increasingly congested with defunct satellites, spent rocket stages, and fragmented debris – all posing collision risks to operational missions. In line with ESA and ESA Academy’s vision, these brilliant students have taken a bold step in supporting a sustainable orbital environment through the development and testing of a CubeSat drag sail.
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