ESA's HydroGNSS mission, launched by a Falcon 9 as part of the Transporter-15 flight, brings a new generation of small satellites for global monitoring of soil moisture, floods, permafrost, and biomass, while the Italian IRIDE and Greek ICEYE strengthen European space infrastructure for climate risk management.
The European Space Agency and Norway plan the ESA Arctic Space Centre in Tromsø to improve satellite climate monitoring, enhance weather forecasts, navigation, and communications, and strengthen security, scientific cooperation, innovation, and sustainable development in the sensitive Arctic region.
In the heart of Mauritania hides the Richat Structure, a colossal "Eye of the Sahara" about 50 kilometers in diameter. This natural geological phenomenon, formed by the uplift of magma and millions of years of erosion, is now captured by Sentinel-2 satellites in stunning natural and false colors. The structure reveals rock layers older than 100 million years.
At the ESA Ministerial Council CM25 in Bremen, Member States approved more than 4.4 billion euros for strengthening European space transportation, modernizing Ariane 6 and Vega-C rockets, developing Space Rider, and building a new space hub on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores, thereby reinforcing Europe's autonomy in space and encouraging the entry of new commercial launch service providers.
The International Space Station has been continuously hosting crews for 25 years, and the ISS National Laboratory is turning microgravity into an engine of science, innovation, and private investment – from biomedicine and new materials to space startups, education of millions of students, and the development of future commercial stations in Low Earth Orbit.
The new Copernicus Sentinel-5A mission delivers the first detailed maps of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, and sulphur dioxide, revealing global air pollution patterns and the state of the ozone layer, and setting the foundations for more precise climate and public health monitoring in the coming decades.