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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Sentinel-1B will be launched on a Soyuz rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on 22 April 2016, depicted here separating from Fregat upper stage. Sentinel-1B will join its identical twin, Sentinel-1A, in orbit to provide more radar views of Earth for Europe’s Copernicus environmental monitoring effort. Delivering vital information for numerous operational services, from monitoring ice in the polar oceans to tracking land subsidence, the Sentinel-1 mission plays a key role in Copernicus – the largest civil environmental monitoring programme ever conceived. With the two satellites orbiting 180° apart, global coverage and data delivery are optimised for Copernicus services.