Year in images 2025

From the launch of ESA’s Biomass mission to new milestones in astronaut training, 2025 has been a year defined by bold steps and fresh perspectives. We’ve explored Earth’s forests with unprecedented detail, watched students drive their own 3D-printed rovers, and welcomed more than 2200 school children to the Living Planet Symposium - inspiring future generations to see themselves in the world of space and science.

Webb offered a new look at a classic deep field, Solar Orbiter revealed striking views of the Sun’s south pole, and Proba-3 unveiled the corona in extraordinary clarity. From a blood moon rising over Concordia in Antarctica to the excitement of new astronaut training patches, these are just a few of the 31 stories that shaped our year.

Explore here the full Year in Images 2025 collection - a celebration of the people, missions and discoveries that defined this remarkable year.

[Image description: A nine-panel collage showing highlights from ESA’s 2025 Year in Images.

Top row: a Vega-C rocket launches ESA’s Biomass mission at night, with bright exhaust and tower structures; the ESA Astronaut Reserve stands together wearing blue flight suits and their new training patch; a colourful radar view of Bolivian forests and winding rivers from Biomass.
Middle row: a dense James Webb deep-field image filled with stars and galaxies; a large group photo of school children and ESA staff at the Living Planet Symposium, with ESA’s Director General Josef Aschbacher and Earth Observation Director Simonetta Cheli in the front; the green solar corona captured during Proba-3’s ASPIICS eclipse-like observation.
Bottom row: students operating small 3D-printed rovers indoors; a sequence of photos showing the phases of a lunar eclipse ending in a red blood moon over Concordia Station in Antarctica; a detailed Solar Orbiter view of the Sun’s south pole in golden tones with overlaid grid lines.]