The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 22 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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A partly man-made island located in the Persian Gulf some 25 nautical miles northwest of Abu Dhabi is featured in this image acquired by ALOS – Japan's four-tonne Earth observation satellite. ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) captured this image on 5 April 2009 with its Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type-2 (AVNIR-2) instrument. ESA is supporting ALOS as a Third Party Mission, which means ESA utilises its multi-mission European ground infrastructure and expertise to acquire, process and distribute data from the satellite to its wide user community.