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 topicMany regions of our planet have recently been hit by major catastrophes. In each case, international agencies requested satellite data to coordinate relief efforts. This A & B-Roll explains how the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, created in 2000 at the initiative of the European Space Agency and its French counterpart CNES, helped for the Haitian earthquake in January this year. It features an interview with Stephen Briggs, Head of Earth Observation Science and Applications at ESA, colleagues at the Charter's operational centre in Italy, and Paul de Fraipont, CEO at France's Regional Service of Image Treatment and Remote Sensing (SERTIT) in Strasburg.