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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Captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission on 30 May 2021, this image shows the Baltic Sea and coastlines of the surrounding countries of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany. Sea-level rise is a major global concern, and using satellites carrying radar altimeters to map sea-level change close to the coast is difficult, especially along complex coastlines such as those seen here. The main problem is because mountains, bays and offshore islands distort the radar signal that is reflected back to the satellite. Another problem is sea ice, which covers parts of the oceans in winter, is impenetrable to radar. However, new research demonstrates how a specific way of processing satellite now makes it possible to determine sea-level change in coastal areas with millimetre per year accuracy, and even if the sea is covered by ice.
Read full story: New satellite data techniques reveal coastal sea-level rise