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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We are all aware that the summer of 2022 has been one of the hottest on record, causing drought and raging wildfires in many parts of Europe. Satellite data have been used to report the baking temperatures of the land surface and map fires, but the Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar mission has also been used to zoom in and provide very high-resolution measurements of the actual moisture content of the surface soils. Maps of northern Italy, for example, show how dry this summer has been compared to 2020.