Copernical Team
ESA and EDF strengthen their partnership for energy efficiency at Europe’s Spaceport
Week in images: 25-29 May 2026
Week in images: 25-29 May 2026
Discover our week through the lens
This Month at ESA: May 2026
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What did space deliver for Europe this month? From asteroid flybys to Mars landing tests, new discoveries from Webb and Hubble, and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot capturing shooting stars from orbit, here’s your monthly roundup from the European Space Agency.
This month also saw ESA team up with DON’T NOD for Aphelion, a sci-fi adventure inspired by real space science and exploration.
Journey to the centre of a galaxy cluster
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Journey to the centre of a galaxy cluster Wolves and quantum bits: creating the Saga mission patch
The Secure and cryptographic (Saga) mission is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) initiative to enable highly secure cryptographic key distribution from space using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). As cyber threats continue to evolve, the technologies developed and demonstrated under Saga are designed to strengthen Europe’s digital resilience and strategic autonomy by supporting highly secure communications.
Earth from Space: Batagaika Crater
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This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features the Batagaika Crater in Siberia. This is the biggest permafrost crater in the world, caused by melting permafrost and also known as a ‘mega-slump’. 
MTG-I2 embarks on journey to Europe’s Spaceport
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The Meteosat Third Generation-Imager2 satellite sets sail from France to French Guiana European Service Module at the (space) disco
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European Service Module for Artemis III during acoustic testing, May 2026. Satellite Evidence in the Courtroom
Satellite imagery can show when a crime leaves a mark on the landscape – a village destroyed, a lake drained, a forest cleared. However, whether a court will accept satellite evidence remains an open question. The 'Earth Observation for Human Rights and Legal Accountability Mechanisms' project, co-funded by the Discovery element of ESA's Basic Activities and the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Strathclyde, examined how Earth observation data can be systematically analysed and presented to meet the evidentiary standards required in legal proceedings.