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 Hurricane Jimena roaring towards Mexico's Baja California Peninsula on 31 August 2009 (18:09 UT). Around the time of the acquisition, Jimena had maximum sustained winds of nearly 250 km/h and was just short of being classified as a Category 5 storm – the highest danger rating for a hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson intensity scale. Instruments aboard ESA’s Envisat allow it to observe various features of hurricanes, including cloud structure, wind and wave fields, sea-surface temperature and sea-surface height. Envisat’s Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) optical instrument acquired this image working in Full Resolution mode to provide a spatial resolution of 300 m.