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
Go to topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
Flowing more than 6400 kilometres across Brazil, the Amazon River originates in the Peruvian Andes. Second in length only to the Nile River, the Amazon carries with it huge amounts of sediments picked up from lands it crosses. On average, the Amazon deposits three million tonnes of sediment every day into the Atlantic Ocean. This outpouring of water and sediment is so vast that the salt content and colour of the Atlantic Ocean are altered for a distance of several hundred kilometres from the mouth of the river.
Technical Information:
Instrument: MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS)
Date of Acquisition: 25 March 2002
Orbit number: 00350
Instrument features: Full resolution image (300-meter resolution)