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 topicShips detected each day by AISSat-1 and -2 (left) and by NorSat-1 and 2 (right) in the North Sea.
The colour code shows how many times each ship has been observed during the observation period of 24 hours (red->yellow: fewer observations, green->blue: more observations).
In areas with heavy maritime traffic the number of messages sent by ships can be so high that they jam the satellite receiver. The solution is a new type of message that is more easily picked up by satellites and suffers less interference from other messages.
The total number of messages from the NorSat receivers typically reach 2.5 million per day. This is nearly three times more than the previous receivers on AISSat-1 and 2, which together achieved about 900 000 per day.