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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Soil moisture in southern Africa in mid-April 2014. The image on the left is based on rain gauge data only. It shows that data gaps and lack of spatial variability limit the information that can be provided in large areas of Africa to monitor plant health. The more detailed image on the right includes soil moisture data from ESA’s SMOS mission, which are assimilated into the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service forecasting system. This adds significant information in large areas of southern Africa.