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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The Benguela current is a cold ocean current off the west coast of South Africa. It is an upwelling from deep beneath the sea; the combination of its cool nutrient-rich waters and the hot Sun supports a high population of phytoplankton. Taken last October, this MERIS image of the Benguela current depicts concentrations of phytoplankton chlorophyll. Meanwhile researchers were sailing in the area to validate the accuracy of MERIS algorithms used to derive this image from raw data.