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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This Envisat image acquired on 27 October 2006 captures the ‘Esperanza’ fire in southern California that has claimed the lives of five firefighters and forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes. For a decade now, ESA satellites have been continuously surveying fires burning across the Earth’s surface. Worldwide fire maps based on this data are now available to users online in near-real time through ESA's ATSR World Fire Atlas (WFA).
The blaze, called ‘Esperanza’ as major fires in California are given names, burned some 163 square kilometres about 144 kilometres east of the city of Los Angeles before firefighters contained it on Monday.