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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ESA's SMOS satellite is providing valuable insights into the terrestrial cryosphere. SMOS, provides observations over regions of snow and ice, and those, combined with glaciological and emission models, allow us to map the temperature at different depths within the ice sheet - improving our knowledge of ice accumulation and ice sheet dynamics.