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 topicCarried on MetOp, the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) is a compact five-channel microwave radiometer that scans through the atmosphere to measure upwelling microwave radiation from the Earth at specific frequency bands. Since humidity in the atmosphere attenuate microwave radiation emitted from the surface of the Earth, it is possible, from the observations made by MHS, to derive a detailed picture of atmospheric humidity where the different channels relate to different altitudes. Temperature at the surface of the Earth can also be determined.