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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In the summer of 2021, unusually warm atmospheric rivers swept along Greenland, bringing potent melt conditions when the melt season would normally be drawing to a close. The image shows the air temperature over Greenland in the Augusts of 2019, 2020, 2021, compared to the 1991–2020 August average. Although this heatwave was followed by never-before-seen rainfall, it was the heat that led to a major melt, completely removing the surface snow, thereby changing the surface albedo so that Greenland snow and ice absorbed more of the Sun’s rays, further exacerbating the melt.
Read full story: Historic Greenland ice sheet rainfall unravelled