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 captures cloud streets – parallel rows of clouds that align with the wind – and the northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the largest peninsula in Europe, shared by Norway (left and top), Sweden (left of the Gulf of Bothnia seen at bottom centre) and Finland (right of the gulf). The Russian Federation is visible along the right side of the image. Cloud streets (upper right corner) have formed over the Barents Sea due to the mixture of heat, moisture and wind. In this image, cold, dry air masses over the ice are flowing from the north to the south. This image was acquired by Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument on 5 April 2009, working in Full Resolution mode to provide a spatial resolution of 300 m.