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-2B being prepared for testing in the Large Space Simulator at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands. The 15 m-diameter simulator mimics the cold and heat of space. The satellite was shipped from Airbus Defence and Space’s Friedrichshafen facility in Germany to ESA’s test centre in June 2016. Here, it is being put through a stringent environmental test campaign to make sure it is ready for its life in space. In 2017, Sentinel-2B will join its identical twin, Sentinel-2A, in orbit around Earth to provide multispectral imagery for a multitude of applications, from monitoring the health of the world’s vegetation to mapping regions struck by natural disaster.