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 topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
This Envisat image features a phytoplankton bloom in the Bay of Biscay. The bay, an inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean, is bordered on the east by France’s west coast (visible) and on the south by Spain’s north coast (visible). The bay is decorated by blue and green swirls of phytoplankton, microscopic marine plants that drift on or near the surface of the sea. Although some types of phytoplankton are individually microscopic, the chlorophyll they use for photosynthesis collectively tints the colour of the surrounding ocean waters. This provides the means of detecting these tiny organisms from space with dedicated 'ocean colour' sensors, such as Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument. MERIS acquired this image on 13 April 2009 while working in Full Resolution mode to provide a spatial resolution of 300 m.