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!
Humans started to cultivate land around 10 000 years ago, but environmental concerns, sustainability, quotas, subsidies and reporting systems make farming more challenging than ever. Satellites orbiting Earth such as Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel missions and ESA’s SMOS and the upcoming Florescence Explorer provide a wealth of information about growing conditions and crop health that can be used to increase agricultural efficiency. Value-adders can use these measurements to give farmers advice on irrigation, warn them of drought or water stress, and help to improve their crop yield predictions. Here, a tractor is using a variable spraying system – a system that guides the farmer on where and how much to spray or irrigate and a clear example of where information from satellites would benefit the system.