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 cloudless view of central and northern Italy, the snow-capped Alps and the European heartland was snapped by an experimental camera, smaller than an espresso cup, aboard ESA’s minisatellite Proba-2. One of the 17 experimental technologies hosted on Proba-2 is the compact Exploration Camera, X-Cam, manufactured by Swiss company Micro-Cameras & Space Exploration. Housed on the underside of the satellite, the monochrome X-Cam observes in the visible and infrared with a 100° field of view. This image was acquired by Proba-2’s X-Cam on 7 June 2013.