Video: 00:06:21

As a new year begins, let’s take a look at what’s ahead for the European Space Agency in 2026. From Earth to the farthest reaches of the Solar System, 2026 marks a year of firsts that continue to shape the future of space.

Video: 01:30:00

Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency, briefed journalists on the main milestones for 2026, such as the launch of Smile, a mission that will give humankind its first complete look at how Earth reacts to streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun. Later in 2026 should also see the arrival of BepiColombo at Mercury after its eight-year trip, where it will gather data to answer many perplexing questions about the least-explored planet of the inner Solar System. Many more exciting missions are expected, with ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot launching for the

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 03, 2026
As rivals deploy operational hypersonic vehicles, analysts describe a new Sputnik moment for U.S. tactical space access, with the Pentagon directing more than $6.9 billion toward hypersonic weapons programs for fiscal 2025 and the hypersonic technology market projected at about $8.46 billion this year. The shift away from chasing the lowest launch price toward speed and responsiveness underpins

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026
Sierra Space has completed the first nine satellite structures for the Space Development Agency's Tranche 2 Tracking Layer program, delivering Plane 1 of its contracted 18 satellites three months ahead of schedule. The milestone supports delivery and launch preparation timelines for the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer within the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. Erik Daehler, Senior Vic

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 06, 2026
Space Machines Company (SMC) has been awarded a 2.9 million Australian dollar contract by Defence's Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) to develop the Space Threat Analysis and Response System, or STARS, under the Emerging and Disruptive Technologies Decision Advantage program. The capability is intended to strengthen the protection of Australian and allied space assets in increas

Colorado Springs CO (SPX) Jan 03, 2026
U.S. Space Command's Joint Operations Division hosted the command's first artificial intelligence-enabled summit Nov. 18-21, 2025, at the Bayfield facility in Colorado Springs and at a MITRE-operated facility that supports national security work. The Augmented Planning and Execution Summit brought together more than 70 leaders, including seven division chiefs and component representatives,

Often called Earth’s green lungs, tropical forests pull down massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, release oxygen and help regulate the global climate. While the threat of large-scale deforestation is well known, new findings reveal a surprising culprit – the clearance of small areas of forest accounts for more than half of net carbon losses across the Tropics.

London, UK (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Scientists report signs that dark matter and neutrinos may interact, a possibility that would extend the standard cosmological model and change how structure growth in the universe is understood. The study examines how such interactions could influence the formation of galaxies and other large-scale structures, addressing a known mismatch between predictions from early-universe measurement

Newark NJ (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Solar physicists say they have found a key source of intense gamma rays unleashed when Earth's nearest star produces its most violent eruptions. In findings published in Nature Astronomy, scientists at NJIT's Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (NJIT-CSTR) have pinpointed a previously unknown class of high-energy particles in the Sun's upper atmosphere responsible for generating the long