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 topicWinds over the sea cause disturbances of the sea surface which modify its radar backscattering characteristics in a particular way. These backscattering properties are well known and are dependent on both the wind speed over the sea and the direction of the wind with respect to the point from which the sea surface is observed. ASCAT, carried on MetOp-A, exploits this fact by using radar to measure these backscatter coefficients, which can then be applied to deduce actual wind speed and direction for weather forecasting. ASCAT will provide data at 50-kilometre resolution, which will be distributed in near real-time to key meteorological offices. In addition to wind vector determination, data from ASCAT will also find roles in areas such as ice, snow and soil moisture monitoring.