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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More than a quarter of the carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere every year is soaked up by the oceans. Initially, this may appear to be a good thing, tempering global warming, but there is a downside. As more carbon dioxide dissolves into the oceans, the more acidic the seawater becomes. Over the next century, ocean acidification has the potential to alter many marine ecosystems so that sea life is affected as well as fisheries – a basic food source on which many rely.