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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Launched on 25 April 2018, the Sentinel-3B satellite has already delivered impressive first images from its ocean and land colour instrument and from its radiometer. It has now also delivered data from its altimeter – which means that all of the instruments are working well.
First data from the altimeter included the height of Lake Van in east Turkey and these tracks over Greenland showing the height of the ice sheet. The Sentinel-3B data overlay a digital elevation model from ESA’s CryoSat mission – and the data compare well. The altimeter is particularly important for measuring changes in sea level, but as this example shows, it is also used to measure the height of ice, which is used to assess the ice sheet's overall mass balance.
The Sentinel-3B satellite lifted off from Russia on 25 April and joins it identical twin, Sentinel-3A, in orbit. This pairing of satellites increases coverage and data delivery for the European Union’s Copernicus environment programme. Both Sentinel-3 satellites carry the same suite of instruments.