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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In 1977, the first Meteosat satellite took its place in geostationary orbit and laid the foundations for the European and world cooperation in meteorology that continues today.
Building on the success of both the first Meteosat generation and the subsequent Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) series, the first satellite of the third generation, the Meteosat Third Generation Imager-1 (MTG-I1), was launched on 13 December 2022.
This animation shows the first images of Earth captured by the Meteosat satellites ranging from 9 December 1977 (Meteosat-1) all the way to the first image from MTG-I1 acquired on 18 March 2023.