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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For a team of scientists and technicians from Europe and the US, the fact of ‘going back to the office’ this September has meant heading off to the Cabo Verde islands in the Atlantic – not to extend their summer holidays, but for a complex international experiment campaign that will scrutinise the data being delivered by one of today’s most innovative Earth observation satellites: ESA’s Aeolus wind mission.
This intrepid team are taking measurements of the wind, aerosols and clouds with a range of instrumentation on different aircraft flying at different altitudes. As the photo shows, the aircraft are packed with instruments. Many flights are even planned to coincide with Aeolus as it orbits above. Measurements are also being taken by lasers and radars on the ground. This is all providing a wealth of data to compare with that from Aeolus and to support the science to tropical weather.