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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One of the first images from Sentinel-3A’s Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) shows a long crack running through the ice shelf to the east of the centre part of the Antarctic Peninsula. The crack is about 2 km wide, but widens to 4 km or more in some places. There are also finer cracks and structures visible in the ice shelf. Structure in the cloud, cloud shadows and details of the land emerging from the ice can also be seen. The image was acquired on 3 March 2016 at 11:53 GMT with the instrument’s visible channel. As the SLSTR scans Earth’s surface, it senses visible light and infrared light (heat) in a number of different spectral channels. The thermal infrared channels will soon be working when the instrument has finished outgassing water vapour. This is necessary because the infrared channels must be cooled to operate properly. The SLSTR will measure global sea- and land-surface temperatures every day to an accuracy of better than 0.3ºC.