European Space Agency

This is the _best_ Merch packaging ever!

Finding this in my postbox instead of the expected brown box has made my day.

Hats off to @esa for being on top of their game.

After a thorough evaluation, ESA preselected the proposals of the following Challengers:

• Isar Aerospace
• Maiaspace
• Orbital Express Launch
• PLD Space
• Rocket Factory Augsburg

#Science at it's best: inspiring, collaborative, smart. Really impressive, what @esa shows in their #EUMETSAT #livestream. Only 4 min until launch of MTG-S1 Copernicus, Sentinel 4A. I must confess I am nervous. All the best!

https://www.youtube.com/live/xCTZj0hIAqE

#Meterology #WeatherForecast #ClimateData #Emissions #AirQuality #PlanetaryBoundaryScience #Satelite

Oggi, a #LineaRadioSavona, anche se in registrata, siamo andati a curiosare fra gli esperimenti della missione #ax4 di #Axiom #Space che ha portato lassù l'astronauta polacco dell'#ESA @esa Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski!
Grazie a chi ha ascoltato, buon sabato!🙏👋🚀
#UnoRadio

Herzlichen Dank an Staatssekretärin Prof. Dr. Heike Graßmann und Dr. Tim Metje vom #SMWK für den Besuch diese Woche am TROPOS und interessante Gespräche in netter Atmosphäre! Und natürlich gab es auch einen Blick in große und ganz kleine #Wolken in den Kammern. 😊
Alles zu sehen auch zur #LndWLeipzig am Freitag-Abend von 18 Uhr bis Mitternacht. Eintritt frei! Mehr unter https://www.tropos.de/aktuelles/veranstaltungen/lange-nacht-der-wissenschaften-2025
/ #SPIN2030 #LeipzigweißBescheid #wisseninleipzig @leibnizwgl @esa #ACTRISD @stadtleipzig

On 17 June, the agency announced the launch of its ASTRE (Advanced Staged-Combustion Technologies for Reusable Engines) project, revealing that industry stalwart ArianeGroup would lead a consortium that includes SiriusSpace and Pangea Aerospace. The project aims to develop a full-flow staged combustion methalox reusable rocket engine capable of producing between 200 and 300 tonnes of thrust, placing it in roughly the same class as the SpaceX Raptor engine. According to the agency, the goal of the project is “to equip the French and European space industry with new capabilities for strategic applications.”

As project lead, ArianeGroup will be responsible for technology maturation and the development of two demonstrator engines, one at reduced scale and another fully representative of the final engine. SiriusSpace will support the maturation of key technologies, while Pangea Aerospace will focus on the preliminary design of the target engine.

🌍 Find out how remote sensing is helping us respond 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 – 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 – 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, at the 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘂𝗺 in Vienna!

📡 Join us for 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕.𝟬𝟰.𝟬𝟱 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲

🗓️ Tues, 24 June | 14:00 & 16:15
🔗 https://lps25.esa.int/sessions/
#LPS25 @esa

At a June 12 press briefing after a meeting of the ESA Council, agency officials said they had a “deep discussion” about the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal for NASA released May 30 that would, if enacted, affect science and exploration programs involving the two agencies, from Artemis to Earth science.

“We are impacted on quite of number of domains that, at least for the moment, are proposed for cancellations or reductions,” Josef Aschbacher, ESA director general, said. “We are doing our homework in analyzing what is the impact and what could be options and measures we could take in order to make sure that investments that have been made by our member states are utilized in the best possible way.”

The impacts of the NASA budget cut across ESA, illustrating the significant cooperation between the two agencies. The biggest is in exploration, with the budget proposing an end to the Orion spacecraft, to which ESA provides the service module, after Artemis 3, as well as canceling the lunar Gateway, Mars Sample Return (MSR) and NASA support for ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover mission.

Work on those efforts is continuing currently, said Daniel Neuenschwander, director of human and robotic exploration at ESA. “Of course, we anticipate options,” he said, such as studying with industry potential, unspecified alternative uses for the Orion service module and the Earth Return Orbiter for MSR.

He said that ESA and its industrial partners are continuing work on the service module, or ESM, for Artemis 4, set for delivery this year. “We are studying with the industry consortium delivering the European service modules some alternative missions for ESM,” he said. “We will continue to deliver the ESM as long as they are needed.”

Aschbacher said that ESA has maintained “close interactions” with NASA on the budget proposal, including briefings from NASA officials. “We have a very open and transparent working relationship,” he said.

ESA used the briefing to emphasize that it has a wide range of other international partnerships that could be expanded even if partnerships with NASA shrink.

He said that includes looking for “reinforced partnerships” with countries to compensate for any reductions of cooperation with NASA. One example he gave was an agreement with the Indian space agency ISRO signed in May to cooperate on human spaceflight. That could lead, he said, to ESA astronauts visiting ISRO’s space station planned for the 2030s as one option for European astronauts after the retirement of the International Space Station.