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
Go to topicA better knowledge of our planet behaviour; this is the objective of SMOS that will be launched on 2 November from the Russian cosmodrome of Plesetsk.
SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) is ESA's second Earth Explorer satellite under its Living Planet Programme to go into orbit.
SMOS will primarily observe soil moisture over the Earth's landmasses and salinity over the oceans. Data from SMOS will lead to a better understanding of the Earth's water cycle which has important effects on the climate. SMOS will also study the frozen regions of our planet, known as the cryosphere.
SMOS will be launched together with another ESA satelite PROBA-2, to test new technologies.