Celebrating 35 years of the Hubble Space Telescope

In April 2025, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will celebrate 35 years since its launch.

During the 1970s, NASA and ESA began planning for a space telescope that could transcend the blurring effects of the atmosphere and take clearer images of the Universe than ever before. In 1990 the idea finally became a reality and, despite a flaw in the main mirror which was quite swiftly corrected, Hubble has since far exceeded expectations.

It has delved deeper into the early years of the Universe than was ever thought possible, played a critical part in the discovery that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating and probed the atmospheres of planets around distant stars.

To celebrate these 35 years of success and impact in engineering, science and culture ESA/Hubble will run a series of initiatives to involve the public in the celebrations. These updates are posted below.

heic2505 — Photo Release

Hubble celebrates 35th year in orbit

23 April 2025: In celebration of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s 35 years in Earth orbit, an assortment of compelling images have been released today that were recently taken by Hubble. This stretches from the planet Mars to dramatic images of stellar birth and death, to a magnificent neighbouring galaxy. After over three decades of perusing the restless universe, Hubble remains a household word as the most well-recognized telescope in scientific history.

potw2516 — Picture of the Week

A glittering cluster shines again

21 April 2025: As part of ESA/Hubble’s 35th anniversary celebrations, a new image series has been shared throughout April to revisit stunning Hubble targets that were previously released. New images of NGC 346, the Sombrero Galaxy, and the Eagle Nebula have already been published. Now, ESA/Hubble is revisiting the star cluster Messier 72 (M72) with new data and image processing techniques.

heic2507 — Photo Release

Hubble spies a cosmic pillar in the Eagle Nebula

18 April 2025: In anticipation of the upcoming 35th anniversary of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble is continuing the celebrations with a new view of the Eagle Nebula. This vast stellar nursery displays a towering spire of cosmic gas and dust that incorporates new data processing techniques developed since an image of this region was last released two decades ago.

heic2506 — Photo Release

Hubble provides a new view of a galactic favourite

16 April 2025: In anticipation of the upcoming 35th anniversary of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble is continuing the celebrations with a new image of the Sombrero Galaxy, also known as Messier 104. An eye-catching target for Hubble and a favourite of amateur astronomers, the enigmatic Sombrero Galaxy has features of both spiral and elliptical galaxies. This image incorporates new processing techniques that highlight the unique structure of this galaxy.

heic2502 — Photo Release

Hubble spots stellar sculptors at work in a nearby galaxy

4 April 2025: In anticipation of the upcoming 35th anniversary of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble is kicking off the celebrations with a new image of the star cluster NGC 346, featuring new data and processing techniques. This prolific star factory is in the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the largest of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies.

ann2501 — Announcement

Hubble’s 35th anniversary public celebrations in Europe

29 January 2025: In April 2025, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will be celebrating its 35th anniversary. To celebrate how the Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the Universe, ESA/Hubble invited proposals from organisations, institutions, and groups across Europe to maximise the reach and impact of this milestone with special events.

ann2501 — Announcement

Announcement of the ESA/Hubble 35th anniversary calendar

27 January 2025: On 24 April 1990, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope was sent into orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery as the first space telescope of its kind. An incredible 35 years later, Hubble is more active and productive than ever. Each year of its mission has been marked by a breathtaking image newly released for the occasion.

ann2403 — Announcement

Announcement of the 2025 ESA/Hubble/Webb Calendar

12 December 2024: To celebrate another year of exciting images and discoveries from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble and ESA/Webb have released a new calendar for 2025 that showcases beautiful imagery from both missions.

ann2402 — Announcement

Celebrate Hubble’s 35th anniversary with ESA/Hubble!

18 October 2024: In April 2025, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will be celebrating its 35th anniversary.
Since its launch in 1990 Hubble has made 1.6 million observations of over 53 000 astronomical objects. To date, the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland holds 184 terabytes of processed data that are science-ready for use by astronomers around the world to use for research and analysis.

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