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 topicSentinel-3 is a mission with wide-swath low-medium resolution visible and infrared radiometers and a radar altimeter package, and part of GMES space component. Sentinel-3 is a low-Earth-orbiting mission providing fast revisit land and ocean monitoring on a global basis. In order to meet the GMES requirements and in particular the Ocean and Land (global) Fast Track Services, two operational satellites are envisaged in-orbit to provide a one-day (land) and two-day (ocean) revisit time. Additional satellites are then required to provide the sustained operational services over a minimum operational period of twenty years following the first satellite launch. Artistic drawing of Sentinel-3.