Space is increasingly central to the EU's security, resilience, and economic future. Against that backdrop, EU Space Days 2026 brought together senior EU decision-makers, industry leaders, start-ups, and researchers in Nicosia, Cyprus, for two days of high-level discussions on the state and direction of Europe's space endeavours.

As the global race for computing power and cloud storage intensifies, the frontier for data processing may lie not on the ground, but in orbit. Orbital Data Centres (ODCs) represent a potential new capacity for the European space ecosystem and a building block of a larger in-space economy.

The EU space policy and programmes support a wide range of services used across Europe every day. In this Observer, we explore how the EU space policy and programmes support people, public authorities, businesses, and critical infrastructure across Europe.

Europe faced another year of exceptional climate extremes in 2025, with almost the entire continent recording above-average annual temperatures. The European State of the Climate (ESOTC) 2025 report, produced by Copernicus C3S and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), highlights a continent undergoing rapid change.

Understanding how the Earth's surface changes is key to addressing some of today's most pressing environmental challenges, from deforestation and biodiversity loss to land degradation and the consequences of climate change.

Since its launch on 2 April 2020, the Copernicus Image of the Day (IOTD) has published, 365 days a year, a daily image based on Copernicus data, highlighting significant environmental, meteorological, climate- or disaster-related phenomena, and the shifting state of our planet's land, sea, and atmosphere. Over six years, the series has reached...

As cyber threats evolve and quantum computing advances towards practical applications, traditional encryption methods face more complex challenges. The Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) constellation represents Europe's ambitious response to this emerging reality, positioning the European Union...

From assessing heat and cold stress to exploring historical climate data and future projections or mapping methane plumes and monitoring major aerosol events, a range of user-friendly digital tools from Copernicus is delivering climate and air-quality intelligence to users worldwide. Building on data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service...

The European Commission has adopted a new Communication calling for a more integrated EU-wide approach to wildfire risk management, covering prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. The strategy comes as the newly published Advance report on Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2025 from the Copernicus Emergency...

The EU's commitment to climate neutrality by 2050, set out in the European Climate Law, has made the accurate monitoring and verification of carbon removal a scientific and political priority. The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) provides harmonised land cover datasets and products which support more detailed and geographically...

Our planet and the space environment surrounding the Earth are regularly affected by variations in solar activity. Though invisible to most of us, these fluctuations trigger space weather events, which can disrupt the operations of electronic equipment and affect critical infrastructure we rely on every day, from communication and navigation to...

Artificial Intelligence is transforming how Earth Observation data are analysed and used to support environmental monitoring, climate research and action, as well as disaster risk reduction and emergency management. AI methods, including machine learning techniques, are helping researchers, public institutions, and industry extract insights...

Across Europe and around the world, cultural and natural heritage sites face rising pressures from environmental change, urban development, natural hazards, illegal activities, and conflict. Satellite-based observations provide consistent, long-term information which helps authorities, researchers, and site managers understand how these sites...

Through its advanced satellite technologies and space-based systems, the EU Space Programme is transforming how aircraft navigate, communicate, and operate across European airspace and beyond. Innovations from EGNOS, Galileo, Copernicus, and soon IRIS², are changing the way we fly. Precision landing and navigation systems developed under the EU...

According to the recently published Global Climate Highlights 2025 report from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), global temperatures remained close to historic highs in 2025, making it the third-warmest year on record and reinforcing the persistence of long-term warming trends. Alongside near-record global surface air and sea surface...

The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service is expanding its reach through its CLMS Snapshots, a new tool which uses interactive, visually rich story maps to bring land monitoring insights to wider audiences. These story maps translate complex environmental data into accessible narratives for journalists, educators, environmental communicators, and...

A new era for European space connectivity is unfolding. With IRIS², the European Union is building a sovereign satellite constellation that will secure communications, protect critical infrastructure, and expand secure connectivity to citizens, including in underserved areas. In this Observer, we explore what IRIS² is, how it builds on the...

As Europe approaches a decisive moment for its space ambitions, the 18th European Space Conference convened policymakers, industry leaders, and institutional stakeholders to reflect on the choices shaping the continent’s space ecosystem over the coming decade. Held in the wake of the CM25 ESA Ministerial Council in Bremen and ongoing...

Europe’s risk landscape is changing rapidly, with climate-driven hazards and complex crises placing increasing demands on civil protection authorities. As disasters become more frequent, intense and cross-border by nature, the ability to anticipate events, efficiently prepare, respond rapidly, and coordinate across systems and institutions...

The global population has quadrupled in just a century, reaching eight billion in 2022. A growing population means rising demand for food, making sustainable agriculture more critical and necessary than ever. Yet, modern farming faces mounting challenges, including soil degradation linked to pesticide use and plastic pollution, as well as more...