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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Emissions measured from space can show when certain patterns of behaviour change – and so can be useful for highlighting the humanitarian impact caused by a particular issue. For example, the Arabian Peninsula is surrounded by important international shipping lanes, dominated by container ships and oil tankers. However, since 2008 ships have been coming under attack from pirates and have been forced to change their routes. These route shifts have been reflected in current satellite data measuring pollutants. This image of nitrogen dioxide emissions in 2010 represents ship tracks around the Gulf of Aden while ships moved away from the Somalian coast for fear of attack.