Week in images: 13-17 April 2026

Discover our week through the lens

Three Earth observation satellites, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with European partners, and due to launch later this year, have completed their functional and environmental tests and are ready to travel to the European spaceport in French Guiana. But first, journalists were invited to have one last look.

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir and Chris Williams take a moment to capture the occasion as they first open the Cygnus NG‑24 cargo spacecraft after its installation on the International Space Station. 

“I love these moments when the whole crew comes together around an event like this. Welcoming a cargo vehicle is such a special experience: you know you’ll be receiving care packages from teams and families, along with a wealth of scientific experiments – and maybe even some fresh fruit too,” says Sophie Adenot. 

Cygnus NG‑24 is delivering around five metric tonnes of scientific experiments, spare parts and supplies to the Station,

Shrinking ice is arguably one of the most visible indicators of climate change – particularly in the Arctic. However, a European Space Agency-funded study used information from satellites to show that Antarctica is now experiencing similar dramatic changes, with profound consequences for key plankton species that underpin the region’s marine food web.

Each year the European Space Agency (ESA) invites small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and midcaps to share their views and give feedback about topics which affect their work in the space sector.

An SME Forum occurs as part of the SME and Midcap Days on 8–9 June 2026 at ESA Headquarters in Paris, France. This is preceded by an online preparatory SME Forum in April and May.

Actionable data from space could be delivered in seconds in the future, thanks to progress towards the European Space Agency’s (ESA) faster and more secure laser communications network, HydRON. At the 41st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Canadian satellite communications company Kepler was awarded a contract to lead the next phase in the project’s evolution. 

Noticeable change on Mars often takes millions of years – but the European Space Agency’s Mars Express has captured a blanket of dark ash creeping across the planet in just decades.

The first‑of‑its‑kind ship‑to‑ship call between astronauts on deep‑space and low Earth orbit missions.On 7 April, the Artemis II crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, together with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, spoke with Expedition 74 astronauts Chris Williams, Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir of NASA, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot aboard the International Space Station.