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 23 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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Witnessed by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission on 12 July 2017, a lump of ice more than twice the size of Luxembourg broke off the Larsen C ice shelf, spawning one of the largest icebergs on record and changing the outline of the Antarctic Peninsula forever. Over the following two months, systematic observations from Sentinel-1 showed that the A68 berg remained close, buffeting back and forth against the ice shelf. It was unclear what would happen to the berg because they can remain in one place for years.
However, the mission has revealed that A68 is now on the move and drifting out to sea. Images from 16 September show that there is a gap of about 18 km as the berg appears to be turning away from the shelf.