ESA Astronaut Parmitano to Fly to the Moon and Million-Euro Funds for Startups
Today's overview covers significant progress in European space travel, extensive new investments for German startups, as well as political tensions in the EU and social debates.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced important milestones. ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano will participate as a pilot in NASA's Artemis III mission, which aims for a landing on the Moon. In parallel, the "Space4Future" pavilion was officially opened at the ILA Berlin 2026 aviation trade fair to strengthen cooperation between research and industry. Additionally, ESA and Europa-Park are joining forces to make European space travel more well-known through joint projects.
In the German economy, there is a wave of new investments for young companies. Venture capitalist Headline is launching a new growth fund amounting to 865 million euros, while Capmont Technology is providing 100 million euros for technology investments. A fund of over 30 million euros was launched specifically for the Bremen location. The Munich-based company tado, known for smart thermostats, is also reporting a profit for the first time.
The new regulation of parental allowance is causing social discussions. It is criticized that the new provisions could make the fair distribution of care work between parents more difficult. Experts warn that mothers in particular could be the ones to suffer from this development.
On an international level, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas is coming under pressure. Within EU circles, particularly from the French side, dissatisfaction with her shaping of foreign policy is being voiced. Meanwhile, the price of gold rose significantly following an agreement between the USA and Iran, with investors now eagerly awaiting signals from the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
Further details on these topics and many other news items can be found in the news section of the app. There, you can read, among other things, more about the desire of US companies to return to the Russian market, the presentation of new startups like Alpine Eagle, and reports on dealing with the hormonal disorder PMDS.