As the Pacific Ocean moves into an El Niño phase, scientists are monitoring changes in sea-surface temperature, but also sea-surface salinity – which is another key indicator of this phenomenon. Measurements from satellites such as the European Space Agency’s SMOS mission are revealing how freshwater and salt patterns shift across the Pacific as this year’s…

More than one month on from the catastrophic twin earthquakes in northern Venezuela on 24 June 2026, satellite data show the ground displacement was greater than first estimated.

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 26 July, shows a zoomed-in view over ESA’s Cebreros ground station, which lies within the areas heavily affected by the wildfires in Spain.

Image: These images by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, captured on 26 July, show the area to the west of Bordeaux, France, where wildfires continue to burn countryside, fanned by wind and heatwave conditions.

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Australia’s southwestern corner in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia.

More analysis is needed to ensure that tropical forest degeneration and regeneration are consistently reported in carbon cycle models and in national reporting, according to a study funded in part by ESA’s Climate Change Initiative Biomass project. The study analysed how tropical forests store carbon under varying conditions and then release it back into the atmosphere.…

Image: The FLEX satellite, ESA’s next Earth Explorer mission, has been removed from its container packaging at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, where it will be prepared for its upcoming launch.

In September, ESA’s school projects are back for another exciting school year. Mark the dates in your diary and start planning for engaging, interdisciplinary ways to bring space into the classroom while helping students develop a broad range of STEM skills and competences.