Astronomy

As semaglutide-based weight loss treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy become more popular, new side effects are emerging – and one is hair loss

Urine that has sat in the sun for a while seems to fertilise crops while warding off pests, without affecting the produce's taste

Urine that has sat in the sun for a while seems to fertilise crops while warding off pests, without affecting the produce's taste

Europe's Solar Orbiter spacecraft has chronicled the development of the magnetic escape of plasma driven out by a powerful magnetic reconnection event.

The first images of Earth's poles from the Fram2 Crew Dragon have been uploaded from the orbiting spacecraft, and the views are breathtaking.

NASA's "quiet" new supersonic jet, the X-59, just passed a key engine test, bringing it closer to its first flight later this year.

The JWST was used in a creative way to capture direct images of distant worlds.

At the Dakshineswar temple complex in India, Hanuman langurs beg for food by grabbing visitors’ legs or tugging on their clothes – and they don’t stop until they get their favourite snacks

At the Dakshineswar temple complex in India, Hanuman langurs beg for food by grabbing visitors’ legs or tugging on their clothes – and they don’t stop until they get their favourite snacks

After last week's explosive X-flare, sunspot AR4046 is at it again! Could this latest eruption bring stormy space weather to Earth?

Trump administration plans to destroy EPA science will leave the air we breathe and the water we drink more polluted

Children ages four to seven demonstrate natural fact-checking skills when put to a test with zebras and space aliens

An analysis of two decades of data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has provided fresh insights into the complex atmospheric changes on Uranus, including the effects of the sun's radiation on its seasonal shifts.

Video: 00:08:04

Space Debris: Is it a Crisis?

The European Space Agency’s short documentary film ‘Space Debris: Is it a Crisis?’ on the state of space debris premiered at the 9th European Conference on Space Debris on 1 April 2025.

Earth is surrounded by thousands of satellites carrying out important work to provide telecommunications and navigation services, help us understand our climate, and answer fundamental questions about the Universe.

However, as our use of space accelerates like never before, these satellites find themselves navigating increasingly congested orbits in an environment criss-crossed by streams of fast-moving debris fragments resulting from collisions, fragmentations and breakups in space.

Each fragment can damage additional satellites, with fears that a cascade of collisions may eventually render some orbits around Earth no longer useable. Additionally, the extent of the harm of the drastic increase in launches and number of objects re-entering our atmosphere and oceans is not yet known.

So, does space debris already represent a crisis?

The documentary explores the current situation in Earth’s orbits and explains the threat space debris poses to our future in space. It also outlines what might be done about space debris and how we might reach true sustainability in space, because our actions today will have consequences for generations to come.

 

ESA’s Space Safety Programme

ESA’s Space Safety Programme aims to safeguard the future of spaceflight and to keep us, Earth and our infrastructure on the ground and in space safe from hazards originating in space.

From asteroids and solar storms to the human-made problem of space debris, ESA works on missions and projects to understand the dangers and mitigate them.

In the longer term, to ensure a safe and sustainable future in space, ESA aims to establish a circular economy in space. To get there, the Agency is working on the technology development necessary to make in-orbit servicing and zero-debris spacecraft a reality.

Watch the video in other languages.

Could microbes survive in the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of the Moon? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of researchers from the United States and Canada investigated the likelihood of long-term survival for microbes in the PSR areas of the Moon, which are craters located at the poles that don’t see sunlight due to the Moon’s small axial tilt. This study has the potential to help researchers better understand unlikely locations where they could find life as we know it throughout the solar system.

What can a sample return mission from Jupiter’s volcanic moon, Io, teach scientists about planetary and satellite (moon) formation and evolution? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as an international team of more than two dozen scientists discussed the benefits and challenges of a mission to Io with the goal of sampling its volcanic plumes that eject from its surface on a regular basis.

SpaceX launched the Fram2 astronaut mission today (March 31), the first-ever crewed spaceflight to orbit Earth over its poles.

What causes a blue band to cross the Moon during a lunar eclipse?