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 topicThis aerial photograph shows examples of the Nasca lines. The drainage channels right of centre are indicative of erosion caused by run-off water from the Andes.
Recent evidence suggests that some of the lines and figures are now at risk from increased water erosion and deposits left by from flash floods and run-off from the adjacent Andean foothills, a consequence, it is thought, of the El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean.