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An international team of astronomers have used the NASA/ESA/Webb James Webb Space Telescope to study the disc around a young and very low-mass star. The results reveal the richest hydrocarbon chemistry seen to date in a protoplanetary disc (including the first extrasolar detection of ethane) and contribute to our evolving understanding of the diversity of planetary systems.

Our galaxy has collided with many others in its lifetime. ESA’s Gaia space telescope now reveals that the most recent of these crashes took place billions of years later than we thought.

At ILA Berlin, ESA and Vast signed a Memorandum of Understanding for future Vast space stations.

Following months of meticulous testing to ensure that it will deliver first-class data on air quality around the world, the new Copernicus Sentinel-5 instrument has been delivered to Airbus in France ready to be installed on the first MetOp Second Generation weather satellite.

Image: Ariane 6 first flight payloads moved to the encapsulation hall

ESA’s EarthCARE mission has completed its important ‘Launch and Early Orbit Phase’ and is ready to begin the commissioning of its four scientific instruments. The data they gather will improve our understanding of the role that clouds and aerosols play in Earth’s radiation balance and benefit both climate modelling and weather forecasting.

The first ESA instrument to land on the Moon has detected the presence of negative ions on the lunar surface produced through interactions with the solar wind.

Over 200 dedicated professionals from ESA, EUSPA and European industry across four Galileo centres and seven external entities have seamlessly upgraded Galileo’s massive ground segment. In a remarkable feat of coordination and precision involving the deployment of 400 items, and after five months of rehearsals, Galileo’s ground segment, the largest in Europe, has transitioned seamlessly to System Build 2.0.

ESA’s experimental OPS-SAT CubeSat mission came to an end during the night of 22—23 May 2024 (CEST).