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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This animation shows global monthly averages of soil moisture in the early 1980s in litres per m3, followed by changes in global soil moisture to present.
Major anomalies are highlighted, such as the 1992 flooding in Afghanistan, the 2005 drought in the central US, Russia’s heatwave in 2010 and Australia’s floods in Queensland in January 2011.