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 topicSARP-3 receives and processes emergency signals from aircraft and ships in distress. It determines the name, frequency and time of the signal. These data are then fed into the SARR (Search And Rescue Repeater) instrument (also on board MetOp) for immediate transmission to SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite) distress terminals on the ground.