This Month at ESA: July 2026

What did space have in store for Europe this July?

The Artemis II crew visited ESTEC, ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands, to meet the team behind Orion’s European Service Module, celebrating the collaboration that powered their trip around the Moon. Meanwhile, ESA’s Hera spacecraft successfully upgraded its software from 140 million km away, in preparation for its investigation of Didymos and Dimorphos later this year.

July also saw FLEX and Copernicus Sentinel-3C head to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in preparation for their launch this September. Then, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope celebrates four years of science with a spectacular new view of the galaxy Centaurus A.

400 km above Earth, Sophie Adenot inaugurated the European Enhanced Exercise Device with rowing, rope-pulling, strength training and more. She also showed us the ISS 'Veggie' chamber, and how the space seedlings have been growing. From the Cupola, Sophie captured her most impressive footage of Earth’s auroras yet.

Here’s your monthly roundup of everything happening at the European Space Agency.