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European Space Agency @esa
Joined February 2009
  • Posts 63,962
  • Following 1,022
  • Followers 1,894,591
14,499 Photos and videos
#MediaInvitation: Journalists are invited to attend the launch of the weather satellite MTG-I2 on Ariane 6 #VA270 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. 📅 Apply by 16 July, 17:00 CEST 🔗 esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Relea…
Ariane flying into space with two boosters – artist's impression

ALT Ariane flying into space with two boosters – artist's impression

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European Space Agency reposted
Adenot Sophie
@Soph_astro
Jul 2
Day 139, orbit 2155 — After the pictures (available in HD on my Flickr account), I'm so happy to finally share the timelapse of the most spectacular aurora of the εpsilon mission so far! 🤩 Watching this glowing green ribbon shimmer and dance, it's easy to lose yourself completely in the magic of the moment. Turn the sound on for the full experience – the music was carefully chosen to bring you as close as possible to what I felt watching this from space 💚. 🎥 @esa / @NASA #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight •  @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson •
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Building on the success of Aeolus, the world's first satellite to measure global winds from space, we have authorised @AirbusSpace to begin development of Aeolus-2. 🌍 Developed with @eumetsat, the next-generation mission will help improve weather forecasts and strengthen climate monitoring worldwide. 🔗esa.int/Applications/Observi…
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🌀 The Milky Way is bigger than we thought. Using X-ray echoes from powerful cosmic explosions, our XMM-Newton and @NASA's Chandra have revealed that some of our galaxy’s outer spiral arms lie up to 10% further away than previously estimated. Read more 👉 esa.int/Science_Exploration/… (Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC, Stefan Payne-Wardenaar, ESA/XMM-Newton and NASA/Chandra)

ALT This artist’s impression depicts the structure of our galaxy, the Milky Way, based on data from ESA's Gaia and illustrates how scientists have revised the position of its outer arms thanks to observations from ESA's XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra. The two X-ray telescopes have spotted the aftermath of three bright cosmic explosions echoing through the outer spiral arms of our galaxy. By measuring the distance to these echoes, a research team found that the outer arms are up to 10% further away than we thought.

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🚀 Ready to launch your career in space? Our Junior Professional Programme could be your lift‑off. If you hold a Master’s degree and have up to three years’ experience, this is your chance to join the European space sector.🌍 Apply now👉 esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_… #ESArecruits
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Artemis III crew announcement, a record-breaking Ariane 6, major science updates and more. Catch up on our main stories in June 2026. 👀
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Josef Aschbacher
@AschbacherJosef
Jun 26
Celebrating a new chapter for Greece in space. Thanks @PrimeministerGR & @papastergiougr for your ambition and support. You show how investing in space delivers for your citizens. Wishing @Astrovenator as the first Greek entering astronaut @esa training program every success.
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After 8 years travelling across the inner Solar System, BepiColombo has switched off its ion engines. The ESA/JAXA mission is now entering its final approach to Mercury, with key arrival steps starting in September. 🔗 esa.int/Enabling_Support/Ope… @JAXA_en @esascience @esaoperations
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An intense heatwave is affecting western Europe. This image of land surface temperature was captured by the @CopernicusEU Sentinel-3 mission on Wednesday, 23 June in the late morning. Cities and regions of France, Spain and southern Italy are experiencing unseasonal temperatures: Madrid 48°C • Poitiers 46°C • Rome 44°C 🔥 More info 👉 esa.int/.../Europe_feels_the…...
The colours shown on the image range from purples and deep reds (indicating surface temperatures up to 55ºC, seen in parts of central Spain, western France and northern Africa) to light blues that indicate lower surface temperatures in mountainous regions. Some areas were covered by cloud – shown in white.

ALT The colours shown on the image range from purples and deep reds (indicating surface temperatures up to 55ºC, seen in parts of central Spain, western France and northern Africa) to light blues that indicate lower surface temperatures in mountainous regions. Some areas were covered by cloud – shown in white.

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Today, our Euclid mission revealed the largest, most detailed photo ever taken of our galaxy's centre in visible light. 🔗 esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
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ESA Science
@esascience
Jun 24
No less than 60 million stars in one image. It's possible thanks to the @ESA_Euclid mission. For just one day, Euclid turned its gaze to the crowded heart of the Milky Way and captured the largest, most detailed photo ever taken of our galaxy's centre in visible light. Let's dive deeper 👇 1/8
A dense field of tiny stars fills this square image taken by the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope. The lower and central areas are dominated by bright yellow and gold colours, forming a textured background similar to fine glitter or sand. Dark brown and black patches cut irregularly through the yellow regions, like ink stains or clouds of smoke. Toward the upper left, the colours shift to purple and reddish tones, blending gently into the surrounding star field. Small blue points of light are scattered across the image.

ALT A dense field of tiny stars fills this square image taken by the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope. The lower and central areas are dominated by bright yellow and gold colours, forming a textured background similar to fine glitter or sand. Dark brown and black patches cut irregularly through the yellow regions, like ink stains or clouds of smoke. Toward the upper left, the colours shift to purple and reddish tones, blending gently into the surrounding star field. Small blue points of light are scattered across the image.

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Save the date and join our Open Days 2026. 19 - 20 Sept. - ESA HQ, Paris 🇫🇷 25 Sept. - ESA ESRIN, Frascati 🇮🇹 26 - 27 Sept. - ESA ESTEC, Noordwijk 🇳🇱 2 Oct. - ESA ESOC, Darmstadt 🇩🇪 3 Oct. - ESA ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada 🇪🇸 10 Oct. - ESA ECSAT, Harwell 🇬🇧 Registration details and programme coming soon 👇 esa.int/About_Us/ESA_Open_Da…
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Adenot Sophie
@Soph_astro
Jun 20
Day 127, orbit 1968 — That aurora was absolutely spectacular… shimmering and dancing beneath us, stretching as far as the eye could see, and so intense it lit up the Station in shades of green 💚. We’ve seen several since the beginning of the mission, but this one was on a completely different level – far too bright for my usual aurora camera settings. Moments like these never get old up here; the whole crew suddenly find themselves vying for a good spot at a window 😊 📸 @esa / @NASA – S. Adenot #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @esaspaceweather • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson
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April–June 2026 was a busy season for us! Get up to speed on European space with our new ESA Impact visual report, out now 👉 esamultimedia.esa.int/multim…
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European Space Agency reposted
Adenot Sophie
@Soph_astro
Jun 18
Day 125, orbit 1938 — Many thanks to all of you following along on social media, and to all the incredible teams behind εpsilon! It’s been an amazing adventure so far, and I couldn’t be more grateful for your support. Looking forward to sharing the second half of the journey with you all! 🎥 @esa / @NASA #εpsilon • @esaspaceflight • @Space_Station • @NASAJohnson
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ESA Council appoints Christine Klein as Director of Controlling, Finance and Operational Procurement, and Jean‑Luc Trullemans as Director of Strategy, Legal and External Affairs. 👏 🔗esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_n…
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Mission success for the most powerful Ariane 6 yet. ✅ Flight #VA269 launched 36 @Amazonleo satellites using upgraded boosters carrying 14 tonnes more propellant each. A new record for Europe’s heaviest payload in a single launch. 🔗 esa.int/Enabling_Support/Spa… (Pic: ESA-CNES-Arianeespace-ArianeGroup \ Optique Video du CSG - T. Leduc)
First Ariane 6 liftoff with most powerful boosters

ALT First Ariane 6 liftoff with most powerful boosters

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🔴 #LiveNow: information session following the 347th ESA Council. 📺 watch.esa.int/two/
European Space Agency
@esa
Jun 10
#MediaInvitation: Following the 347th ESA Council, information session on the core topics discussed. 🗓 17 June, 15:30 CEST 📍 ESA HQ Paris or online ✅Register by 15 June, 17:00 CEST: blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-medi…
ESA DG Josef Aschbacher

ALT ESA DG Josef Aschbacher

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