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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Snow cover is a vital source of water for industry, agriculture and human consumption. Records show that last winter’s snow cover in the Alps was less than it has been since 2001. This Copernicus Sentinel-3 image captured on 18 December 2022 shows the wide-coverage of snowfall which hopefully bodes well for the coming year.
Carrying a suite of cutting-edge instruments, the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission measures Earth’s oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics.
Sentinel-3 measures the temperature, colour and height of the sea surface as well as the thickness of sea ice, while over land it provides indices of vegetation state, maps land and measures the height of rivers and lakes.