European Space Agency
Every Cosmic Herald story on European Space Agency — missions, launches, discoveries, and the business of space, newest first.
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Military Space
China Is Filling Low Orbit With Derelict Rocket Bodies — and Three Have Already Exploded
A LeoLabs analysis finds China abandoned 51 spent rocket bodies above 650 km from 2021-2025 — 86% of the global total — and three have already fragmented, seeding debris clouds that will outlast everyone reading this.
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Astronomy
Euclid's 60-Million-Star Portrait of the Galactic Bulge Lays Groundwork for Roman
Euclid's new visible-light mosaic of the Milky Way's crowded center packs 60 million stars across 22 Moons of sky — and quietly hands NASA's Roman telescope a two-year head start on its planet hunt.
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Science & Discovery
Hubble Catches a Tiny Galaxy Burning Off the Cosmic Fog, 1.4 Billion Years After the Big Bang
Astronomers used Hubble to catch ionizing UV light escaping a small, furiously star-forming galaxy in the reionization epoch — the first such detection, and direct evidence for how the early universe became transparent.
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NASA & Agencies
Behind Closed Doors: ESA's 347th Council Sets the Table for Europe's 2026 Ministerial
ESA's governing Council wrapped its 347th meeting on 16-17 June 2026 with decisions on agency governance, programmes and international partnerships, feeding directly into preparations for the CM26 ministerial later this year.
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Commercial
An Austrian Propulsion Startup Just Landed €6.3 Million From Europe's Sovereign Space Push
Gate Space, a Vienna-born satellite propulsion firm, secured €6.3M from the European Innovation Council — the only space company in a 38-firm cohort — as Europe doubles down on homegrown launch and in-orbit capabilities.
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NASA & Agencies
A European at the Controls: ESA's Parmitano Named Artemis III Pilot as NASA and ESA Sign New Climate and Lunar Deals
NASA named ESA's Luca Parmitano pilot of Artemis III, ESA committed a third European Service Module, and the two agencies signed Earth-science and Lunar Pathfinder agreements around ESA's 347th Council in Noordwijk.
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Astronomy
Asteroid 2026 JH2's Surprise Close Approach Exposes Detection Gaps in Planetary Defense
A 62-foot asteroid discovered just days before its closest approach demonstrates how near-Earth objects can slip past detection systems—and why autonomous surveys matter for planetary safety.
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Military Space
Combat Surgeon, Record-Setter, Next: Army's Col. Rubio Named to Artemis III Earth Orbit Test Crew
Col. Frank Rubio — who shattered the U.S. record for longest single spaceflight — has been named to the 2027 Artemis III crew alongside ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, in a mission that will test lunar lander docking in Earth orbit as the final dress rehearsal before the Moon.
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NASA & Agencies
ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover: Still Alive, Still Going to Mars
ESA's ExoMars rover survived the loss of its Russian Roscosmos partnership and is being rebuilt for a European launch. If it gets to Mars, it will carry a drill no other mission has ever attempted.
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Missions
ESA's Hera Mission Is About to Rewrite What We Know About Asteroid Deflection
NASA's DART proved we can move an asteroid. Now ESA's Hera spacecraft is arriving at Didymos to find out exactly what happened — and whether planetary defense is ready for a real threat.
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Missions
NASA's DAVINCI mission will drop a probe through Venus's atmosphere. Here's what it's looking for.
DAVINCI is a spherical probe designed to fall through Venus's corrosive atmosphere for about an hour, sampling the air at every altitude. It's looking for evidence that Venus once had oceans — and why it lost them.
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NASA & Agencies
India's space program is moving faster than anyone expected. Here's where it stands.
ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 south pole landing in 2023 and Aditya-L1 solar observatory marked a turning point. With Gaganyaan crewed flights approaching and a Venus mission on the books, India is building the infrastructure of a major spacefaring nation.
