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The video shows a rendezvous test performed at ESA’s Guidance, Navigation and Control Laboratory using GRALS, the lab’s duo of robotic arms mounted on 33-m long rails. One arm holds the navigation unit of an approaching spacecraft, the other holds a scale model of a spacecraft target or ‘client’. Both are suspended in the centre of a long dark room with only one lamp illuminating the scene, mimicking the Sun. 

The European Space Agency (ESA) and industry are working together to develop and test interfaces that will allow satellites to approach in space, recognise each other and dock. The first hardware tests for this step took place at ESA’s testing facilities at ESTEC, the agency’s technical centre in the Netherlands, evaluating different interfaces and technologies developed by The Exploration Company with Sener, GMV, Almatech and CDS. 

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Watch the full replay of the launch of ESA’s state-of-the-art FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite. Both were launched together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, marking a new milestone in Europe’s Earth Observation Programmes. Flight VV30 lifted off on 15 September at 03:21 (14 September at 22:21 local time).  

FLEX is designed to reveal a phenomenon invisible to the human eye: the faint fluorescence emitted by plants as they photosynthesise. Equipped with a Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer, FLEX will detect and measure this incredibly weak signal from orbit. Because the fluorescence varies with plant health and environmental conditions, the measurements will provide scientists with new information about photosynthetic activity and vegetation stress on a global scale. 

Sentinel-3C is the third in the Sentinel-3 series.  Carrying a suite of cutting-edge instruments, Copernicus Sentinel-3C will continue the mission’s task of measuring systematically Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics. The mission also provides essential information in near-real time for ocean and weather forecasting.  

Europe’s Vega-C rocket can launch 2300 kg into space, such as small scientific and Earth observation spacecraft. At 35 m tall, Vega-C weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad and reaches orbit with three solid-propellant-powered stages before the fourth liquid-propellant stage takes over for precise placement of satellites into their desired orbit around Earth. This flight was a first dual launch for Vega-C, using a secondary payload adapter called Vespa. Sentinel-3C was placed on top of Vespa inside the main fairing and once deployed the Vespa adapter opened to reveal FLEX for its injection into orbit.   

The Earth Explorer FLEX satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite are launched together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

A new launch adapter called Vespa allows both satellites to be stacked inside the Vega-C fairing for launch. Positioned on top of Vespa, Sentinel-3C is injected into orbit first, followed by FLEX approximately one hour later.

The animation shows the separation of the Sentinel-3C and FLEX satellites from the fairing and their solar panel deployments.

FLEX is designed to reveal a phenomenon invisible to the human eye: the faint fluorescence emitted by plants as they photosynthesise. Equipped with a Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer, FLEX will detect and measure this incredibly weak signal from orbit. Because the fluorescence varies with plant health and environmental conditions, the measurements will provide scientists with new information about photosynthetic activity and vegetation stress on a global scale.

Sentinel-3C is the third satellite in the Copernicus Sentinel-3 series. Like its two older siblings in orbit, Sentinel-3C carries a suite of cutting-edge instruments that measure systematically Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics. It provides essential information in near-real time for ocean and weather forecasting.

Europe’s Vega-C rocket is an evolution of the Vega family, offering increased performance, greater payload capacity and improved competitiveness. With the capability to carry up to 3300 kg into orbit, Vega-C is well suited to launching scientific and Earth observation satellites into space.

Meet a key member of our Hera asteroid mission team: the Hera Space Companion, not just an AI chatbot but a dynamic mission-linked communication platform, designed to make one of humankind’s most important scientific endeavours accessible to everyone! https://hera.space/

Nature is full of incredible light shows, like sea sparkles and fireflies, many of which we can see with the naked eye. In sunlight, however, there is a faint glow we do not see.
It is emitted by plants.

When plants absorb sunlight to photosynthesise, they also emit a very faint fluorescence signal. Invisible to the naked eye, this fluorescence varies with environmental conditions and the physiological state of the vegetation

Remarkably, this can be observed from space.

The European Space Agency’s FLEX mission measures this unique signal to provide an unprecedented window into plant health, productivity and stress across the globe, enabling scientists to better understand how plants respond to environmental pressures such as drought, heat and climate change.

FLEX also delivers critical insights into the role of photosynthesis in the global carbon and water cycles, improving our understanding of Earth’s changing environment.

Witness how over the last eight years, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has been travelling through the inner Solar System and aligning itself with Mercury's orbit. So far, it has travelled 9.9 billion km and completed nine 'planetary flybys' to help steer its way. In the video, you can see the spacecraft fly past Earth once, Venus twice, and Mercury six times. 

Since launching on 20 October 2018, BepiColombo has been travelling as a composite spacecraft made up of ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio), and the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) that carried the two orbiters to Mercury. 

We've shared photos and videos before, taken by the spacecraft's three monitoring cameras (M-CAMs) on MTM. But this is the first time we've compiled them into a video of the mission's complete journey so far. 

The monitoring cameras were designed to keep an eye on the spacecraft itself. In the foreground, you can see one of MTM's solar arrays (M-CAM 1, left), MPO's medium-gain antenna and magnetometer boom (M-CAM 2, middle), and MPO's high-gain antenna (M-CAM 3, right). The images have been positioned and oriented to approximately reflect the relative fields of view of the three M-CAMs. 

As the M-CAMs have no shutter, many of the original images contain streaks due to light falling on the detectors during image read-out. These streaks have largely been removed for this video. 

BepiColombo's arrival at Mercury began on 3 September 2026, with MTM separating from the spacecraft stack. The two stacked orbiters will enter orbit around Mercury in November, and separate from each other on 9–10 December 2026. From that moment on, BepiColombo will be the first mission with two spacecraft orbiting planet Mercury at the same time. 

MTM has no computer to control itself, and lacks an antenna to communicate with Earth. Now that it has separated from the rest, it will circle the Sun indefinitely, letting the two science modules get to work. We expect MTM to pass by Mercury at a distance of around 130 000 km in late October. After that it will enter interplanetary space, and not get any closer to Mercury.

For more about BepiColombo, click here.

For the raw M-CAM images, click here.

A major milestone in BepiColombo’s journey to Mercury.

After almost eight years in space, the Mercury Transfer Module has completed its job. Following a carefully planned sequence of commands, it separated from the rest of the spacecraft and began drifting away at less than 40 cm per second.

ESA’s MPO and JAXA’s Mio will now continue their journey together towards Mercury, with the teams preparing for arrival over the next seven months.

On 4 September 2026, media representatives joined an online briefing ahead of the launch of ESA’s FLEX and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellites.

The two satellites are scheduled to launch together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 15 September at 03:21 CEST (14 September at 22:21 local time).

This video is a recording of the English briefing.

FLEX is equipped with the Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer that will detect the faint fluorescence plants emit as they absorb sunlight during photosynthesis. Although invisible to the human eye, this subtle glow varies with plant health and environmental conditions.

In fact, the FLEX satellite will orbit in tandem with a Sentinel-3 satellite, which will be used to provide information on clouds, aerosols and water vapour as well as information about the land surface, such as the surface temperature, type of land cover and additional vegetation parameters. This integrated package of near-simultaneous measurements will provide an unprecedented view of global vegetation function and status.

Sentinel-3C is the third satellite in the Copernicus Sentinel-3 series. Like its two older siblings in orbit, Sentinel-3C carries a suite of cutting-edge instruments that measure systematically Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics. It provides essential information in near-real time for ocean and weather forecasting.

Europe’s Vega-C rocket is an evolution of the Vega rocket family, offering greater performance, larger payload capacity and improved competitiveness. It can launch up to 3300 kg into space, ideal for carrying small scientific and Earth observation satellites into orbit.

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

Day 202 orbit 3131 — And that's three! Who remembers Jack standing at the bow of the Titanic , gazing out at the endless blue ocean ahead? That image popped into my mind as I reached the forward end of the Station to replace a retroreflector crucial for Dragon spacecraft dockings.

Definitely one of the most beautiful views in the world, and at the same time a bit intimidating from inside my spacesuit, with 400 km of emptiness beneath my feet. Ahead of me, nothing but the hypnotic blue of Earth , contrasting with the infinitely deep black of space. I arrived there during orbital night, my way lit only by my helmet lights, and then the Sun peeked over the horizon, illuminating our magnificent planet as it rotated beneath me. Just... wow!

They say that the journey matters more than the destination Reaching this part of the Station requires carefully making your way through dozens of structures and items that you absolutely must not touch, neither with the bulky rigid spacesuit nor with the tethers and straps that accompany every movement. Add to that handrails crowded with cables, and tools that seem to have a natural tendency to snag on anything they can... Imagine moving slowly, methodically and precisely through a cactus forest, doing everything you can to avoid the spines! I had been warned: "It's complicated, but it's doable." Of all the tasks I was entrusted with, this is probably the one I'm happiest to have completed successfully.

What an adventure these three spacewalks have been! But it will be good to catch my breath and recover physically before our return to Earth, which is also quite a challenge for the human body.

The teams were incredible. A huge thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make these EVAs a success.

Jour 202, orbite 3131 – Et de 3 !Qui se souvient de Jack à la proue du Titanic , visualisant devant lui l’infini océan bleu... C’est exactement ce qui m’est passé par la tête lorsque j’ai rejoint le point le plus en avant de la station pour remplacer un rétroréflecteur indispensable à l’amarrage de la capsule Dragon.

Forcément l’une des plus belles vues au monde, et en même temps, tellement impressionnante depuis mon scaphandre, avec 400 km de vide sous les pieds. Et comme seul paysage devant moi, le bleu hypnotisant de la Terre en contraste avec le noir infiniment dense de l’espace. Je suis arrivée de nuit, sans autre éclairage que celui de mon casque, et quand le soleil a pointé son nez sur l’horizon, notre magnifique planète qui défilait sous mes yeux. Juste... waouh !

On dit souvent que l’important, c’est le chemin, pas la destination Pour rejoindre cette zone de la Station, il faut progresser avec précaution au milieu de dizaines d’éléments qu’il ne faut surtout pas toucher, ni avec l’imposant scaphandre rigide, ni avec les longes et les sangles qui accompagnent nos mouvements. Ajoutez à cela les mains courantes encombrées de câbles, et les outils qui semblent avoir une attirance naturelle pour tous les endroits où ils peuvent se coincer... Visualisez une forêt de cactus dans laquelle vous avancez lentement, avec précision et méthode, pour éviter tout contact avec les épines ! J’étais prévenue : « C’est compliqué, mais faisable » et je suis particulièrement heureuse d’avoir mené à bien cette mission qui m’avait été confiée.

Quelle belle aventure que ces trois sorties extravéhiculaires ! Mais je l’avoue, cela va faire du bien de souffler un peu et de récupérer physiquement avant notre retour sur Terre, qui représente lui aussi un sacré défi pour l’organisme.

Les équipes ont été formidables. Un grand merci à tous qui avez travaillé dur pour faire de ces EVAs un succès.

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir successfully completed US EVA-99 at 21:29 CEST on Tuesday 1 September. It was Sophie’s third spacewalk, and the 33rd conducted by a European astronaut.

During the 6-hour, 49-minute spacewalk, Sophie and Jessica completed several maintenance tasks, including replacing a spacecraft navigational aid, preparing a cosmic particle detector for future upgrades, installing jumper cables to enhance data relay capabilities, and collecting samples for the MicroOrganisms experiment.

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir successfully completed US EVA-99 at 21:29 CEST on Tuesday 1 September. It was Sophie’s third spacewalk, and the 33rd conducted by a European astronaut.

During the 6-hour, 49-minute spacewalk, Sophie and Jessica completed several maintenance tasks, including replacing a spacecraft navigational aid, preparing a cosmic particle detector for future upgrades, installing jumper cables to enhance data relay capabilities, and collecting samples for the MicroOrganisms experiment.

The slow-motion footage shows the separation of the ExoMars landing platform from the backshell during a test. A backshell is the cone-shaped rear section of a spacecraft’s protective aeroshell, which shields it from extreme heat and pressure during atmospheric entry. 

Engineers are recreating the moment the lander breaks away from the backshell  to head towards the martian surface. Anactuator with springs physically releases the lander at the right time and altitude.  

It all happens when the landing platform is less than a kilometre in altitude from the ground, approaching it at 125 km per hour. At that moment, the parachutes are slowing down the module, which has already jettisoned its front shield and deployed its four legs. 

Only after checking the spacecraft’s altitude and speed, and the readiness of the braking engines, does the onboard computer trigger the separation.  

The test campaign at the Thales Alenia Space facilities in Turin, Italy, and used a full-scale model that replicates the structure and dimensions of the ExoMars landing platform and backshell.  

The successful campaign takes ESA’s ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission one step closer to a safe touchdown on Mars launch in 2028.