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On 23 April 2001, ESA astronaut Umberto Guidoni first set foot, or hand, on the International Space Station, making him the first European to visit and work the orbiting outpost. Since then, the Space Station has grown immensely, as have the number of Europeans to have worked in it, together with the science experiments performed in orbit.

With ESA positioned as a world-class provider of Earth observation data and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) leading international efforts to defeat hunger, the two organisations have teamed up to exploit their particular fields of expertise to better address major global issues such as food security, and to take further advantage of the digital transformation in agriculture.

The launch of Sputnik, humankind’s first satellite, in 1957 marked the dawn of a new era for the people of the 'Pale Blue Dot'.

Decades later, our planet is now surrounded by spacecraft carrying out extraordinary work to study our changing climate, save lives following disasters, deliver global communication and navigation services and help us answer important scientific questions.

But these satellites are at risk. Accidental collisions between objects in space can produce huge clouds of fast-moving debris. These clouds can spread and damage additional satellites with cascading effect, eventually making the most useful orbits around Earth no longer safe for spacecraft or people.

Satellites today have to carry out collision avoidance manoeuvres to avoid possible impact with debris. These are costly, and hundreds of collision avoidance alerts are already issued every week. 

And this is nothing compared to what is coming. Several companies have begun to launch mega-constellations into low-Earth orbit to provide global internet access. They have great benefits, but could be a source of huge disruption if we do not change our behaviour.

Our current methods for avoiding collisions in space will become inadequate in just a few years – and even compliance with space debris mitigation guidelines may no longer be enough.

It’s time to act.

ESA is developing technologies for an automated collision avoidance system, as well as methods for refuelling, repairing and upgrading satellites in orbit, extending the lifetime of missions and potentially reducing the number of new satellites that need to be launched.

ESA is also working on debris removal missions that will fly up to dead spacecraft and debris objects, capture them and move them to safety – either by sending them down to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere or up into ‘graveyard orbits’.

By reaching into space, we have brought huge benefits down to Earth, providing technologies that enrich our societies, connect people in previously unimaginable ways and give us an incredible perspective and understanding of our planet.

We know what will happen if we continue on our current path, but we also know exactly what we need to do to change that fate and ensure humankind's access to space is guaranteed for future generations.

Find out more

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the first European mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

On 19 April 2001, Italian ESA Astronaut, Umberto Guidoni launched to the ISS on space shuttle Endeavour for a mission that included installing the Canadarm2 robotic arm and transferring scientific equipment and experiments.

Since then, there have been a further 26 European missions to the ISS and three ESA astronauts have served as commander. ESA astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Matthias Maurer will both launch to the ISS this year.

The ISS has hosted more than 3000 scientific experiments and is providing vital insights on the effects of long duration spaceflight for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.

A-roll includes newly-digitised archive of Umberto’s flight and new interviews with astronaut and head of the European Astronaut Centre, Frank De Winne (via zoom), and Nicole Buckley, SciSpace Team leader, ESA (in-person filming at ESTEC).

B-roll includes additional soundbites (also in French and Dutch), further archive and new footage of ESA astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Matthias Maurer during training for their forthcoming missions.

The winners of the first ESA-EGU Excellence Award were awarded their prizes earlier today at the virtual EGU General Assembly ceremony, attended by ESA’s Director General, Josef Aschbacher and ESA’s Acting Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Toni Tolker-Nielsen.

Watch the replay of the media session held on 19 April 2021 with French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet held in English and French to learn more about his upcoming Alpha mission.

Thomas is returning to the International Space Station on his second spaceflight. Called ‘Alpha’ the mission will see a European astronaut launch on a US spacecraft for the first time in over a decade. Thomas is flying alongside NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide on the Crew Dragon.

Launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, Thomas will be the first ESA astronaut to fly on a vehicle other than the US Space Shuttle or Russian Soyuz.

Latest updates on the mission can be found via @esaspaceflight on Twitter, with more details on the last steps before launch to be published on ESA’s exploration blog via thomaspesquet.esa.int.

Background information on the Alpha mission is available at www.esa.int/MissionAlpha with a brochure at www.esa.int/AlphaBrochure

At ESA, every day is Earth Day. As we humans continue to subject our home planet to increasing pressures, we are better placed than ever to understand and monitor the consequences of what we inflict. Astronauts onboard the International Space Station give us the human perspective of how beautiful Earth is, while satellites orbiting above return systematic measures to take the pulse of our planet 24 hours a day.

These measurements allow us to understand how Earth works as a system and how human activity is changing natural processes, leading to climate change. This information is fundamental to global climate policy-making through international bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and UN Climate Change Conferences, the next being COP26 later this year.

Celebrate Earth Day with ESA with this compilation of content and activities now available.

At ESA, every day is Earth Day. As we humans continue to subject our home planet to increasing pressures, we are better placed than ever to understand and monitor the consequences of what we inflict. Astronauts onboard the International Space Station give us the human perspective of how beautiful Earth is, while satellites orbiting above return systematic measures to take the pulse of our planet 24 hours a day.

These measurements allow us to understand how Earth works as a system and how human activity is changing natural processes, leading to climate change. This information is fundamental to global climate policy-making through international bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and UN Climate Change Conferences, the next being COP26 later this year.

Celebrate Earth Day with ESA with this compilation of content and activities now available.

Earth-inspired wall art celebrating Earth Day

Video: How Galileo works, for its 2 billion global users

In 2008, Thomas Pesquet applied to become an ESA astronaut. On 22 April 2021, he will fly his second mission to the International Space Station. In this video Thomas shares how he found his way to space, and encourages viewers to follow their passions as ESA seeks its next class of astronauts.

Nobody is perfect on their first attempt at a task, but Thomas says the only way to improve is to try and keep trying. Though becoming an astronaut seemed a distant dream when he was younger, by continuing to challenge himself and learn along the way he developed the skills he needed to put himself forward and become one of a small group who have travelled to space.

Whatever your passion, his advice is universal: try your best, and if you don’t succeed it doesn’t matter. What does matter is perseverance.

Find out more about how you can apply to become an ESA astronaut and explore other ESA careers at esa.int/YourWayToSpace

Week in images: 12 - 16 April 2021

Discover our week through the lens

On 22 April 2021, on Earth Day, Thomas Pesquet is planned to return to the International Space Station for his second mission, Alpha. Ahead of his launch, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Cape Canaveral, USA, in a region known as the Space Coast.

One of the most comprehensive pictures of our changing planet is now available to the public. Thanks to the close collaboration between Google Earth, ESA, the European Commission, NASA and the US Geological Survey, 24 million satellite photos from the past 37 years have been embedded into a new layer of Google Earth – creating a new, explorable view of time on our planet.

Josef Aschbacher and Simonetta di Pippo discuss space debris

On 20 April 2021, ESA will host the 8th European Conference on Space Debris from Darmstadt, in Germany. Scientists, engineers, industry experts and policy makers will spend the virtual four day conference discussing the latest issues surrounding space debris. They will exchange the latest research, try to come up with solutions for potential problems and define the future direction of any necessary action.

There are currently over 129 million objects larger than a millimetre in orbits around Earth. These range from inactive satellites to flakes of paint. But no matter how small the item of debris, anything travelling up to 56 000 km/h in an orbit is dangerous if it comes into contact with the many satellites that connect us around the world, be it for GPS, mobile phone data or internet connectivity. The solution is to take action before it’s too late. This is why ESA has commissioned ClearSpace-1 - the world’s first mission to remove space debris - for launch in 2025.

This film contains interviews with ESA Head of Space Debris Office Tim Flohrer; ESA Head of Clean Space Office Luisa Innocenti; and Xanthi Oikonomidou, ESA Space Debris Office.

Week in images: 05 - 09 April 2021

Discover our week through the lens