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 image, acquired on 28 October 2011 by Envisat, shows central Saudi Arabia on the arid Arabian Peninsula.
Most of Saudi Arabia has a desert climate and experiences extremely high temperatures, sometimes reaching up to 50°C in the summer.
While there are virtually no permanent rivers or lakes in the country, large valleys called 'wadis' fill with water during times of heavy rain. Most settlements are located along these valleys.
The area pictured is on the central plateau, Nejd, which slopes downwards from west to east.
The dark circle near the centre of the image is the capital city of Riyadh, the nation’s legislative, financial administrative, diplomatic and commercial hub.
Despite the dry climate, large irrigated crops have been established in the area west of the capital. The irrigation of the fields largely depends on fossil water that was stored underground when the area received more rain several thousand years ago.
This image was acquired by the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer on Envisat.