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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A lush landscape dominated by boreal forests is pictured in this satellite image over the Plesetsky District of northeast Russia’s Archangel Oblast.
Click on the box in the lower-right corner to view this image at its full 10 m resolution directly in your browser.
Forests play a crucial role in Earth’s carbon cycle by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in biomass. Boreal forests – including forest soil – store a third more carbon stocks per hectare as tropical forests, making them one of the most significant carbon sinks in the world.
A satellite dedicated to monitoring our atmosphere is poised on top of a Rockot on the launch pad at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, visible in the upper right. The Copernicus satellite, Sentinel-5P, is set for liftoff at 09:27 GMT (11:27 CEST).
Sentinel-5P carries the state-of-the-art Tropomi instrument to map a multitude of trace gases such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, sulphur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide and aerosols – all of which affect the air we breathe and therefore our health, and our climate.
Follow the Sentinel-5P launch live.
This image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2B satellite on 5 September 2017.