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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GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer) is a single satellite mission orbiting the Earth at a very low altitude of just 250 km. It is the first space mission to employ the concept of gradiometry to map the Earth's gravity field with unprecedented detail. Since the gravity measurements taken by GOCE reflect density variations in the inside the Earth, the resulting data will lead to new insights into the physics and dynamics of the Earth's crust and upper mantle, potentially leading to an improvement in the prediction of events such as earthquakes and volcanic activity.