WeeklyTrailESA FLEX and Sentinel-3C prepare for shared Vega-C launch
ESA's FLEX and Copernicus Sentinel-3C were set to launch together on 15 September 2026 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, after being sealed inside the Vega-C fairing.
Science
Noctilucent Clouds Shine Over Sweden in NASA Astronomy Image
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 27, 2026 shows blue noctilucent clouds above a field near Linköping, Sweden, captured in early August.
NASA's NEO Surveyor Sunshade Inspected Ahead of Infrared Asteroid Search
A technician inspects the large sunshade for NASA's NEO Surveyor mission, a structure designed to keep the infrared space telescope cool while it searches for near-Earth asteroids and comets.
NEO Surveyor sunshade inspected after solar array integration
NASA's NEO Surveyor sunshade, a structure standing 20 feet tall and covered with 864 solar cells, was inspected in a Colorado clean room in July 2026 after environmental testing and delivery ahead of schedule.
NASA SEES Interns Model Propellant Gauging for Intuitive Machines' IM-3 Lunar Mission
High school interns in NASA's SEES program used public mission data to model when an acoustic propellant-gauging method can take reliable readings during Intuitive Machines' IM-3 lunar mission, planned for 2027.
Sentinel-2 image shows Bolivia's Laguna Colorada and high-altitude Andes
A Copernicus Sentinel-2 image acquired on 25 August 2026 captures southern Bolivia's Andean Altiplano near the Chilean border, including Laguna Colorada and surrounding lagoons, salt flats and volcanoes.
ESA revisits tandem-satellite technique to track Antarctic glacier flow
ESA recreated its 1990s tandem-satellite approach with two Copernicus Sentinel-1 craft, producing one-day repeat radar imaging of the same Antarctic region to measure glacier motion and grounding lines.
ESA launches FLEX and Sentinel-3C together on Vega-C
ESA says its FLEX Earth Explorer and Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellites launched together on a Vega-C rocket from French Guiana on 15 September, the rocket's first dual launch.
Astronomy Picture of the Day Shows Ganymede Briefly Hiding Io
A video featured as NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day captured Ganymede passing in front of Io on October 20, 2026, an event known as a mutual occultation of Jupiter's moons.
Perseverance documents rock contact at "Tinga" on Mars
NASA's Perseverance rover imaged a contact between two distinct rock types at a target called "Tinga" near the southern border of the "Idubi" outcrop, a feature the mission team says could shed light on the region's geologic history.
ESA and ISRO extend cooperation agreement to 2032
ESA and ISRO signed an exchange of letters extending their Cooperative Agreement by five years, to 8 January 2032, adding space weather and exploration to its scope.
Galileo tests encrypted signal for first civil authenticated position fix during Norwegian spoofing exercise
ESA reports that receivers in Andøya, Norway, and at its ESTEC laboratory in the Netherlands established positions using Galileo's encrypted test signal, the first real-world use of the upcoming Signal Authentication Service, during the Jammertest interference exercise.