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In Tenerife, Spain, stands a unique duo: ESA’s Izaña-1 and Izaña-2 laser-ranging stations. Together, they form an optical technology testbed of the European Space Agency that takes the monitoring of space debris and satellites to a new level while maturing new technologies for commercialisation.  

Space debris is a threat to satellites and is rapidly becoming a daily concern for satellite operators. The Space Safety Programme, part of ESA Operations, managed from ESOC in Germany, helps develop new technologies to detect and track debris, and to prevent collisions in orbit in new and innovative ways. 

One of these efforts takes place at the Izaña station in Tenerife. There, ESA and partner companies are testing how to deliver precise orbit data on demand with laser-based technologies. The Izaña-2 station was recently finalised by the German company DiGOS and is now in use.  

To perform space debris laser ranging, Izaña-2 operates as a laser transmitter, emitting high-power laser pulses towards objects in space. Izaña-1 then acts as the receiver of the few photons that are reflected back. The precision of the laser technology enables highly accurate data for precise orbit determination, which in turn is crucial for actionable collision avoidance systems and sustainable space traffic management. 

With the OMLET (Orbital Maintenance via Laser momEntum Transfer) project, ESA combines different development streams and possibilities for automation to support European industry with getting two innovative services market-ready: on-demand ephemeris provision and laser-based collision avoidance services for end users such as satellite operators. 

A future goal is to achieve collision avoidance by laser momentum transfer, where instead of the operational satellite, the piece of debris will be moved out of the way. This involves altering the orbit of a piece of space debris slightly by applying a small force to the object through laser illumination.  

The European Space Agency actively supports European industry in capitalising on the business opportunities that not only safeguard our satellites but also pave the way for the sustainable use of space. 

The ESTEC Open Days 2025. Registrations open soon. Registration for the Open Day on 11 October opens on 18 August. Registration for the Open Day on 12 October opens on 8 September.

The development of ESA’s Earth Explorer FLEX mission has recently passed a significant milestone: the mission’s all-important, single instrument  has been joined to its satellite platform. The video shows this delicate operation, which was carried out by spacecraft engineers at Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, France, following the delivery of the instrument from Leonardo in Florence, Italy.

FLEX’s fluorescence imaging spectrometer is called FLORIS for short and designed to map vegetation fluorescence around the globe and quantify photosynthetic activity and plant stress.

Photosynthesis is one of the most fundamental processes on Earth – essential for sustaining life. Most people know it as the mechanism that allows plants to grow by consuming carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. However, few may realise that as plants photosynthesise, they also emit a very faint fluorescence signal. Importantly, the signal, which is invisible to the naked eye, varies according to environmental conditions and the health of the plant – and can be used to assess plant health and stress.

With its FLORIS instrument, the FLEX mission will detect and measure this faint glow from space to offer better insight into plant health.

As prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space led the satellite platform assembly, integration and test campaign, which took place in Thales’ cleanroom in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Now that the platform and the FLORIS instrument have been integrated in Cannes, the next step is to carry out a final series of tests ahead of the launch scheduled in 2026.

Europe’s first MetOp Second Generation, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite – which hosts the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission –  has launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 13 August at 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 Kourou time).

MetOp-SG-A1 is the first in a series of three successive pairs of satellites. The mission as a whole not only ensures the continued delivery of global observations from polar orbit for weather forecasting and climate analysis for more than 20 years, but also offers enhanced accuracy and resolution compared to the original MetOp mission – along with new measurement capabilities to expand its scientific reach. 

This new weather satellite also carries the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission to deliver daily global data on air pollutants and atmospheric trace gases as well as aerosols and ultraviolet radiation.

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.  

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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.]

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.

Access the related broadcast quality video material.

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.

Access the related broadcast quality video material.

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.

Access the related broadcast quality video material.

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.