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!
The Pico do Fogo volcano on Cape Verde’s Fogo island erupted on 23 November 2014 and showed continuing volcanic activity in the days following. By processing two Sentinel-1A radar images, which were acquired on 3 November and 27 November 2014, this interferogram was generated. Deformation on the ground causes phase changes in radar signals that appear as the rainbow-coloured patterns.
Results like these are being used by Earth scientists to help them map the volcano’s subsurface magmatic system, perform geophysical modelling of the volcanic eruption mechanics, and assist the relief efforts on the ground. With this stunning result, the great potential of Sentinel-1 for geophysical applications has been once again unequivocally demonstrated.