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ESA’s Earth from Space series reaches its 1000th image with a return to the vibrant waters of southern Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas – the same region featured in the very first edition in 2004.

On the 17th of June Ariane 6 flight VA269 soared to orbit from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The latest generation of Europe's largest and most powerful rocket launched 36 satellites for Amazon's Leo constellation. 

The debut of the four new boosters based on the P160C solid-propellant rocket motor allowed 36 satellites to be launched, four more than the two Leo launches Ariane 6 had delivered before. 

 Ariane 6 is Europe’s heavy-lift launcher and a key element of ESA’s efforts to ensure autonomous access to space for Europe’s citizens. The new P160C boosters increase considerably performance, payload capacity and competitiveness, allowing for more satellites to be launched, further elevating the future of Europe.

Liftoff: first Ariane 6 liftoff with P160C-based boosters

Dust devils galore: Mars Express visits Mamers Valles on Mars

One robotic arm to rule them all

This video was published on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

Day 122, orbit 1892 — In this timelapse, I’m installing the European NEMUCO experiment in the BioLab facility of the Columbus laboratory module. Delivered by the CRS-34 cargo mission, NEMUCO explores how nerve and muscle cells develop and communicate in microgravity, compared to samples on Earth.

Without countermeasures – like two hours of daily exercise – astronauts’ muscles not only shrink but also lose strength and coordination. NEMUCO investigates, at the cellular level, how microgravity affects the formation of connections and stability between nerves and muscles, known as neuromuscular junction (NMJ). These are crucial for providing functional muscle!

Understanding these changes will help protect astronauts’ health on future missions and could also support improved therapies on Earth for rehabilitation, aging, and neurodegenerative neuromuscular diseases.

Go science!

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Jour 122, orbite 1892 – Dans ce timelapse, j’installe l’expérience européenne NEMUCO dans BioLab, un équipement du module Columbus. Arrivée à bord du cargo CRS‑34, NEMUCO étudie la façon dont les cellules nerveuses et musculaires se développent et communiquent en micropesanteur comparé à des échantillons sur Terre.

Sans contre‑mesures – comme nos deux heures d’exercice quotidien – les muscles des astronautes ont tendance à fondre, mais aussi à perdre en force et en coordination. NEMUCO cherche à comprendre, au niveau cellulaire, comment la micropesanteur influence la formation et la stabilité des connexions entre nerfs et muscles = la jonction neuromusculaire, essentielle à un muscle pleinement fonctionnel !

Mieux comprendre ces mécanismes permettra de protéger la santé des astronautes lors des futures missions… et pourrait aussi contribuer à améliorer des thérapies sur Terre, notamment dans les domaines de la rééducation, du vieillissement ou pour certaines maladies neuromusculaires.

Vive la science !

Satellite measurements are showing a sharp surge in sea-surface temperatures across the tropical Pacific in recent months – the clearest early signal that El Niño is back. This powerful climate pattern, and its counterpart La Niña, can supercharge weather worldwide, amplifying extremes from heatwaves and droughts to torrential rainfall, floods and disrupted winter storm tracks, all on top of the effects of the already warming climate driven by human activity.

The animation shows early signals of the developing event, highlighting sea-surface temperature anomalies from 1–7 June 2026 compared to the 1991–2020 average for the same period.

Anomalies – the difference between current conditions and the long-term average – are used because El Niño often begins as a subtle shift away from what is considered ‘normal’, and these early changes are easier to see against a reference pattern. Although the temperature differences may appear small, the ocean stores and exchanges enormous amounts of heat, so even slight warming can indicate very large changes in the energy flowing between the ocean and the atmosphere.

Read full story: Pacific warming signals El Niño has stirred

Step inside the Columbus Control Centre near Munich, Germany, and discover what it takes to keep ESA's Columbus laboratory running—24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Columbus Flight Director Tristan Hermel takes us behind the scenes of mission control, where teams on the ground coordinate operations, support astronauts and work with international partners across the globe.

Get a glimpse of life behind the consoles as ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot carries out her Epsilon mission on board the Space Station.

This interview was recorded in January 2026.

Listen on all major podcast platforms.

Keep exploring with ESA Explores.

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot joined ILA Berlin 2026 live from the International Space Station for a special in-flight conversation on life and work in orbit, Europe's ambitions in human spaceflight. The call featured ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander, as well as ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst and Matthias Maurer, as well as Thomas Reiter, Head of the Space and Security Department in the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and former ESA Astronaut.

Access all ILA 2026 replays. 

The eighth flight of Europe’s rocket Ariane 6 will have a bigger boost: the P120C solid-propellant rocket motor, used as Ariane 6 booster so far, has been upgraded. The new P160C flying on Ariane 6 flight VA269 offers 10% more performance to orbit.

P160C was developed by Europropulsion under contract from ArianeGroup and Avio. Just like P120C, P160C comes in three main parts, its structure is made in Italy, the rocket engine nozzle in France and the igniter in Norway.

After being shipped to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, the P160C boosters are loaded with 14 tonnes more fuel than P120C and turned into Ariane 6 boosters before being attached to the rocket on the launch pad.

The development of Ariane 6 is another stellar example of European cooperation. The European Space Agency works with an industrial network in 13 European countries, led by prime contractor and design authority ArianeGroup. French space agency CNES manages the range operations at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Arianespace is the launch service provider for this flight for Amazon.

The World Settlement Footprint (WSF) Tracker is an open-source platform that allows users to explore urban dynamics globally, including in some of the world’s most hazard-prone areas. 

The platform enables users to access and analyse datasets that show how urban areas grow and change over time. Covering the period from July 2016 to January 2026, the dataset provides an unprecedented view of settlement dynamics at 10 m resolution, with updates every six months based on satellite data from the Copernicus Sentinel missions processed within Google Earth Engine. 

Read full story: Tracking urban expansion in hazard-prone areas

The joint BDLI–DLR–ESA ‘Space4Future’ Pavilion was officially opened at ILA Berlin 2026, bringing together leaders from space, industry and research to showcase Europe’s ambitions for the future of space.

The event featured:

• Dorothee Bär – Federal Minister, Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt
• Sina Kürtz – Moderator
• Alexander Gerst – ESA Astronaut
• Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla – Chairwoman of the Executive Board, DLR
• Matthias Maurer – ESA Astronaut
• Walther Pelzer – Director General, German Space Agency at DLR
• Dietmar Pilz – ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality
• Amelie Schoenenwald – ESA Astronaut Reserve
• Marc Steckling – Head of Earth Observation, Science and Exploration and Head of Space Germany, Airbus Defence and Space

Access all ILA 2026 replays. 

Proba-3’s first artificial solar eclipse after recovery

This picture was published on social media as part of a set by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:

Day 115, orbit 1780 — On the occasion of World Oceans Day, I’d like to share this photo of two islands, offering a beautiful perspective over the deep blue of the Indian Ocean. These islands are Réunion and Mauritius, located about 230 km apart.

Réunion’s volcanic landscape creates a vast leeward zone over the ocean. There, the sea surface is calmer, and from the Station, sunlight reflects off it like a mirror – a phenomenon known as specular reflection in Physics.

Protecting the ocean means preserving one of the essential pillars of the Earth system: a reservoir of biodiversity, a regulator of climate, and a link between continents and cultures. Around the world, we call it by different names, but from 400 km above, there is only one ocean, a truly global one. 
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Jour 115, orbite 1780 – À l’occasion de la Journée mondiale de l’océan, je partage avec vous cette photo de deux îles, avec une belle perspective sur le grand bleu de l’Océan Indien. Ces deux îles sont La Réunion et Maurice, situées à environ 230 km l’une de l’autre.

Le relief volcanique de La Réunion explique qu’une grande zone de l’océan soit sous le vent. La surface de l’eau y est plus calme, et vu de la Station, les rayons du Soleil s’y reflètent comme dans un miroir – en physique, on parle de réflexion spéculaire !

Protéger l’océan, c’est préserver l’un des piliers essentiels du système Terre, à la fois réservoir de biodiversité, régulateur du climat et lien entre les continents et les cultures. Nous lui avons donné des noms différents suivant les régions, mais depuis notre point de vue à 400 km d’altitude, l’océan est mondial. 

Credit: ESA/NASA – S. Adenot

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