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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This image features a phytoplankton bloom in northern Atlantic waters near Newfoundland, Canada, acquired 10 August 2002 by the MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) sensor in two different manners. The right hand image is a qualitative estimation of the fluorescence signal emitted by phytoplankton. Clouds and lands have been masked and appear black. The left hand image is the corresponding ‘true colour’ image.
Phytoplankton absorbs energy from solar light in the blue spectral range. Part of this energy is re-emitted through fluorescence, in the red spectral range. The fluorescence signal seen on the right hand image is an excellent indicator of the presence of phytoplankton. MERIS has been specifically designed to observe these subtle variations in the waters of our planet.