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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Logos of some of the selected public ideas for monitoring plastic marine litter, gathered through ESA's Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP). OSIP seeks innovative ideas on a variety of topics.
It is extremely difficult to monitor the millions of tonnes of plastic entering the ocean each year, as from Earth's surface it's impossible to see a lot of the ocean at once. All the selected ideas take advantage of the more promising vantage point of space, but otherwise display a diverse range of applications and technologies. There are ideas looking at plastic in rivers, shores and the open ocean, using novel techniques and applying technologies such as artificial intelligence, LIDAR and thermal imaging in new ways.