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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Just as the surface of Earth is not flat, the surface of the ocean is also not flat. Sea-level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average owing to many local factors such as different temperatures of the seawater, ocean currents, changes to average winds and atmospheric pressures, changes to the amount of water on land and gravitational adjustments owing to loss of ice and whether the land is still rebounding now relieved of the heavy weight of Ice Age glaciers.