ESA Top Multimedia

The European Space Agency’s mission to discover Earth-like exoplanets, Plato, is now sealed in the Large Space Simulator (LSS) chamber at ESA’s Test Centre for a series of vital tests under space‑like conditions.

Engineers placed Plato in the LSS on 18 February, and since the beginning of March the spacecraft has been experiencing the extreme temperatures and vacuum of space. This photo captures the satellite standing in the centre of the simulator, moments before the chamber was bolted closed.

The picture was taken from the top opening of the LSS and gives us a direct view of Plato’s 26 ultrasensitive cameras. These are the special eyes that the mission will use to monitor more than 150 000 bright stars at the same time, hunting for terrestrial planets orbiting Sun-like stars.

The mission is expected to be ready for launch by the end of the year. Liftoff on an Ariane 6 is planned by Arianespace for January 2027.

But before launching a spacecraft, it is crucial to operate it and check all its functionalities in a space-like environment. The LSS offers just that.

A cylindrical container standing 15 m high and 10 m wide, the LSS is Europe's largest cryovacuum chamber. Equipped with a high-performance pump, the enclosure achieves a pressure a billion times lower than the sea-level atmospheric pressure, while liquid nitrogen circulating around its casing reproduces the extreme low temperatures of space.

Exposed to a grid of powerful heating elements (so-called ‘calrods’) that simulate the heat of the Sun, the backside of the spacecraft – with solar panels and sunshield – reaches a toasty 160 °C. At the same time, thanks to the sunshield and excellent insulation, the cameras and the optical bench facing the dark, cold part of the chamber are kept very cool at around –80 °C, as if facing deep space. 
Plato will reemerge from the space simulator at the end of March.

[Image description: Photo taken looking down into a black‑walled cylinder, at the bottom of which sits a large satellite with black panels and golden surfaces. On top of the spacecraft, we see the blue, shiny lenses of 26 large cameras. The cameras are mounted on a five‑stepped platform and arranged in four rows of six cameras, plus a top row with two cameras.]

At approximately 18:55 CET (17:55 UTC) on Sunday 8 March 2026, a very bright fireball moving from the southwest to the northeast was observed by many people in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

The fireball glowed for approximately six seconds, leaving a visible trail in the sky before fracturing into pieces. The event was recorded by many dedicated meteor cameras, such as those of the European AllSky7 fireball network, as well as mobile phones and other cameras. Some observers report that the event was audible from the ground.

The Planetary Defence team in ESA’s Space Safety Programme is using all available data to estimate the size of the object. They currently assess it to have been a few metres in diameter. Objects in this size range strike Earth from once every few weeks to once every few years.

Timelapse showing the steps to build the most powerful version of Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket on the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The video shows the central core of the rocket arriving at the launch pad on 21 January 2026, where it was raised upright and placed on the launch table on the same day.

Then launch technicians added the first booster, second booster, third booster and the final, fourth booster over ending on the 22 January. Next the upper part including the 32 Amazon Leo satellites was added to the top of the rocket on 9 February.

On launch day the mobile hangar that houses Ariane 6 was rolled away to reveal the rocket to the stars, followed by liftoff.

This first launch of the four-booster version of Ariane 6, operated by Arianespace, took 32 satellites for Amazon’s Leo constellation to low-Earth orbit. Liftoff occurred at 13:45 local time (16:45 GMT/17:45 CET) on 12 February, with separation of the last satellites occurring after 114 minutes.

This video takes the viewer on a journey through space to one of the most visually remnants of a dying star: the Cat’s Eye Nebula, also known as NGC 6543.

Here, the nebula is showcased through the combined eyes of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESA’s Euclid, highlighting the remarkable complexity of stellar death.

This extraordinary planetary nebula lies in the constellation Draco and has captivated astronomers for decades with its elaborate and multilayered structure.

Planetary nebulae, so-called because of their round shape when viewed through early telescopes, are in fact expanding gas thrown off by stars in their final stages of evolution. It was the Cat’s Eye Nebula itself where this fact was first discovered in 1864 – examining the spectrum of its light reveals the emission from individual molecules that’s characteristic of a gas, distinguishing planetary nebulae from stars and galaxies. 

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On 26 February, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot conducted her first in-flight call with selected French media.

Access the related broadcast quality video material. 

The εpsilon name and patch reflect the power of small, yet impactful contributions and how multiple parts unite to create a whole. In mathematics, “ε” represents something small. In the extensive collaborative effort of space exploration, involving thousands of participants, all roles, including the astronaut's role, stay small yet meaningful.

Asteroids are ancient space rocks left over from the formation of the Solar System. They are thought to have brought complex molecules, and possibly early life, to Earth billions of years ago.

As inhabitants of our planet, we must learn how to keep ourselves and Earth safe from any future impacts that might pose a threat.

Planetary defence is an essential element of ESA’s Space Safety programme. ESA conducts regular observation campaigns to search the sky for potentially hazardous asteroids. If detected, their orbits are calculated and predicted and, if necessary, impact warnings are issued

ESA is also working on mitigation measures – including space missions. 

Learn more about Planetary Defence at ESA.

Watch the docking operations of Crew-12 to the International Space Station (ISS), which took place on 14 February 2026 at 21:15 CET. The docking is followed by the hatch opening and the welcome remarks by the astronauts already present in the ISS.                                        

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot flies as mission specialist. The other Crew-12 members are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, respectively commander and pilot of the mission, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, mission specialist.

The French ESA astronaut is the first of her class, the Hoppers, to fly. Sophie has chosen the name εpsilon for her mission, which may last up to nine months. On board the Station, she will conduct a wide range of tasks, including European-led scientific experiments and medical research, support Earth observation activities, and contribute to operations and maintenance on the Station.

Watch the launch of ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot to the International Space Station (ISS), aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre. Sophie flies as mission specialist. The other Crew-12 members are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, respectively commander and pilot of the mission, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, mission specialist.