ESA Operations

A successful deep-space manoeuvre has put ESA’s Hera spacecraft on course for arrival at the Didymos binary asteroid system later this year! At Didymos, Hera will help turn asteroid deflection into a reliable technique for protecting Earth 🛡️🌍 esa.int/Space_Safety/H…

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Surprising new study on @NASA's DART mission collision in 2022: not only did it change the orbit of the smaller Dimorphos asteroid, but it also shifted the solar orbit of its parent body Didymos. Hera's arrival this autumn will reveal more: nasa.gov/missions/dart/…

Did you see a flash of light in the sky over central Europe last night? ESA's Planetary Defence team is analysing the event. Info at: esa.int/Space_Safety/P… Video credit: ALLSKY7 / Bernd Klemt – AMS76 Herkenrath/DE

To celebrate #InternationalWomensDay, we interviewed five women flying spacecraft at the European Space Operations Centre (#ESOC). Take a look at what they said about their experiences flying spacecraft and perspectives on inclusion. esa.int/Enabling_Suppo…🛰️ 💪 #IWD2026 📷ESA/ESA-J.Mai

Space missions have greatly enriched our understanding of Earth and the Universe, and our modern society has become dependent on essential satellite services. But there's a problem: we've brought our bad habits with us into orbit: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia…

Our first glimpse of comet 3I/ATLAS from Juice's science camera 😍☄️ The precious data from the mission's November observations of the interstellar comet arrived on Earth last week. Teams are now digging in to discover what they reveal. Stay tuned for updates! Read more 👉 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia…

Video available at: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia…

☄️ Asteroids have struck Earth before - and they will again... Learn how the Planetary Defence team in ESA's Space Safety Programme is working to detect, track and deflect dangerous asteroids: esa.int/Space_Safety/P…

ESAW 2026: registration now open until 1 April! 📢 10th European Mission Operations Ground Segment Software & Architecture Workshop (ESAW). 📍 ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany 🗓️ 15–16 April 2026 Help drive innovation across the ground‑segment ecosystem! ➡️atpi.eventsair.com/esaw2026/

At ESA’s 2025 Ministerial Conference, the Space Safety Programme received significant support for its mission to predict, detect and mitigate space hazards, and to build towards a sustainable future in orbit. This is what we’re working on 👇 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia…

Usually, we move a satellite out of the way of space debris. But what if we could prevent collisions by moving the debris instead? Meet OMLET: laser-based collision avoidance from the ground: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia…

I had a constructive first meeting in Washington, D.C. with my counterpart at NASA, @NASAAdmin. We had a very constructive discussion on space exploration and are fully aligned on our shared objectives: the Moon, LEO, and Mars. Looking forward to continuing the discussions.

Full speed ahead to Apophis! 🚀🪨 ESA has awarded two contracts for the development of its Ramses mission, which will rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis ahead of its once-in-a-millennium flyby of Earth in 2029: esa.int/Space_Safety/P…

Fun fact: we recently moved two satellites to meet a plane. Why? For valuable scientific data on atmospheric reentries. Find out more about the why & how 👉 esa.int/Space_Safety/S…

ESA Council has approved Laurent Jaffart as the Director of the newly created Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity Directorate. This new position reflects our commitment to bolstering resilience and enhancing navigation and connectivity in line with security and defence priorities. Read more about the new ESA-RNC Directorate: esa.int/Newsroom/Press…

Ever wondered what powers a solar flare? 💥 Solar Orbiter is finally giving us answers to this long-standing mystery. The mission caught a 'magnetic avalanche' on the surface of the Sun just before a flare was released. 1/3

ESA is closely monitoring a notable space weather event, first detected at 18:09 UTC on 18 January 2026. Aurora were observed over Europe last night and continued high levels of space weather activity are anticipated over the coming days. esa.int/Space_Safety/S…

Fifth poster in our series: "Space Safety - in action!" Mission: Flyeye telescopes Objective: Autonomously scan the night sky for potentially hazardous asteroids Unique feature: Insect-inspired design provides ultra-wide field of view Operational: 2027 Download at: esa.int/space-safety/i…