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 22 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
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This animation was created using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission's radiometer instrument and shows the land-surface temperature across Italy on 9-10 July 2023. On the slopes of Mount Etna, in Sicily, as well as in the region of Puglia, surface temperatures surpassed 47°C.
It is worth noting the difference between air temperature and land-surface temperature. Air temperature, given in our daily weather forecasts, is a measure of how hot the air is above the ground. Land-surface temperature instead is a measure of how hot the actual surface would feel to the touch.
Read full story: Europe braces for sweltering July