ESO Top News
Highlights of first launch of Ariane 6 with four boosters
At 16:45 GMT/17:45 CET the first Ariane 6 rocket with four boosters lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 12 February, taking 32 Amazon Leo satellites to orbit.
This is Ariane 6’s most powerful version yet. The new three-stage European rocket can be adapted according to each mission with either two or four boosters as well as the length of the fairing – the nosecone that splits vertically in two. This launch was the sixth Ariane 6 flight, the first to fly with four boosters and also the first with the long fairing.
Ariane 6 in its four-booster configuration, known as Ariane 64, doubles the rocket’s performance compared to the two-booster version that has flown five times including the inaugural flight in 2024. The P120C boosters used by Ariane 6 are one of the most powerful one-piece motors in production in the world. Flying with four boosters takes Ariane 6 to a whole new class of rockets. With the extra thrust from two more boosters Ariane 6 can take around 21.6 tonnes to low Earth orbit, more than double the 10.3 tonnes it could bring to orbit with just two boosters.
Cheops discovers late bloomer from another era
Scientists used the European Space Agency's Cheops satellite to discover that the planetary system around the star LHS 1903 challenges current planet formation theories with the unusual order of its planets. Surprisingly, the most distant outer planet might be rocky and seems to have formed later – in a different environment than the other planets around the star.
ESA will engage global leaders at the Munich Security Conference 2026
The European Space Agency (ESA) will take part in the upcoming Munich Security Conference (MSC), one of the world’s leading forums for international security policy. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher will join senior political leaders, industry executives and security experts to highlight how space systems underpin Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy.
ESA marks International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2026
Today we join the international community in celebrating Women and Girls in Science. Discover the diversity of female talents working in science and technology around Europe and the words of wisdom that shaped their careers.
ESA awards contracts for Ramses mission to Apophis
On 10 February 2026, the European Space Agency (ESA) signed a contract with OHB Italia for the development of the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses). Launching in 2028, Ramses will rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis before its rare close encounter with Earth. The mission will provide unique insight into the physical properties and behaviour of asteroids, and strengthen international collaboration and European capabilities in planetary defence.
Intense rainfall brings floods across Iberian Peninsula
Satellite data have captured the intensity of rainfall over the Iberian Peninsula during three severe winter storms, and the extent of flooding that followed around the Tejo River and basin in Portugal.
Watch live: Crew-12 launch and docking (updated)
Update — 10 February 2026: NASA and SpaceX have announced they are now planning to launch the Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station no earlier than 10:15 GMT / 11:15 CET (05:15 ET) on Friday 13 February, due to forecast weather conditions along the flight path of the Dragon spacecraft. All the dates and times have been updated in the article.
Ariane 6: more boosters, more power
It its most powerful version, Ariane 6 uses four boosters to lift off and rocket towards space.
Designed for versatility, Ariane 6 can adapt to each mission: flying with two boosters for lighter payloads, or four boosters when more power is needed.
In its four-booster configuration, Ariane 6 can carry larger and heavier spacecraft into orbit, enabling some of Europe’s most ambitious missions — such as Argonaut.
Week in images: 02-06 February 2026
Week in images: 02-06 February 2026
Discover our week through the lens
Earth from Space: Olympic view
Sophie Adenot ready for first space mission
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot is preparing to launch to the International Space Station for her first space mission: εpsilon.
After years of intensive training — from emergency procedures to spacewalk simulations — the countdown has begun. Flying alongside astronauts from NASA and Roscosmos, Sophie will join an international crew living and working together in space.
Aboard the ISS, Sophie will live and work in microgravity, conducting scientific research and performing a range of European- and French-led experiments that advance knowledge for life on Earth and in space.
Join us live on YouTube to watch the launch of Sophie Adenot.
The curious case of why methane spiked around Covid
With fewer cars on the road, planes in the air and factories running, the skies seemed cleaner during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, while there was a decline in pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, scientists were surprised to see that methane surged in the early 2020s and then dropped – and now they know why.
A presidential greeting ahead of Sophie Adenot's first spaceflight
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher joined French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace for an event celebrating the first spaceflight of ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot.
Explore Mars’s Flaugergues Crater
ESA’s Mars Express takes us on a journey across the southern highlands of Mars, including a flight around Flaugergues Crater.
ESA's sustainability ambition
Space activities are unlike any others. They interact not just with Earth, but with three interconnected environments: Earth, Earth’s orbit, and the Moon and deep space. On Earth, we aim to reduce the space sector’s environmental impacts while maximising the societal and environmental benefits of our missions. In orbit, we manage space debris and collision risks to maintain safe and secure operations. For the Moon and deep space, we are laying the foundations to minimise the impact of our missions on and around other celestial bodies.
Guided by our core values, ESA is committed to making its activities more sustainable, redefining how space activities are conceived, executed and shared with the world. Our objective is clear: to address the most pressing challenges and implement ambitious changes, both in our own practices and in close collaboration with our partners.
Looking ahead, in support of Strategy 2040, ESA is determined to lead through ambition, action and collaboration, building a future where space is not only a domain of opportunity but also a model of sustainability, responsibility and global unity.
Moving satellites to meet a plane for rare reentry data
When satellites eventually fall back down to Earth, they mostly burn up because of the friction caused by the atmosphere. Scientific data about this atmospheric reentry process is urgently needed to design future satellites for a quick, safe and sustainable demise at the end of their mission – reducing risks on the ground and in space.
The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully manoeuvred its remaining two Cluster satellites to ensure they can both be observed from a plane as they reenter the atmosphere on 31 August and 1 September 2026.
Apply now to the ESA Graduate Trainee Programme
The 2026 ESA Graduate Trainee positions are now open! If you’re passionate about engineering, science, IT or business, this is your chance to turn your dreams into reality.
