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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Based on Meteosat-7's MVIRI instrument, this is a sample dust mapping product of the western Sahel zone for 3 March 2004, the same day as the dust storm depicted in the animation above. The product is based on the Infrared Derived Dust Index (IDDI), a 1º x 1º gridded dataset providing an indirect measure of the presence of atmospheric aerosols over the land areas of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The presence of a dust layer reduces the infrared radiance of satellite targets. Yellow shows the highest dust levels, descending down to orange, red, purple, dark blue and finally black for the lowest dust levels. The IDDI was developed at the Laboratoire d'Optique Atmosphérique (LOA) de Lille, at L'Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille in France.