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 topic
The European GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) initiative is one of the subjects of the ESA Ministerial Council meeting next week. The primary goal of GMES is to establish coherent, operational, long-term and user-dedicated information systems. Each of these will be designed to meet the specific needs of a user community for which space-based Earth observation data is of potential value. This includes fields as different as, for example, the global monitoring of the environment, agriculture and vegetation, regional development, natural hazards and crisis management, and transport.
The 7-minute A-roll contains mixed audio with a French guide track and is complemented by a B-roll with interviews in clean international sound.
ESA's roadmap to join the European GMES initiative
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The blue planet --- this is the view the first astronauts had of our Earth - an island in an immense sea of space. This image of beauty and peace contrasts with other images like these views of a hurricane - of fault lines of an Earthquake - of the ozone hole - of drought and crop failure.
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Satellites provide a vantage point high above the Earth which is ideal for the study of our ecosystem, for a better management of resources, for getting to grips with global change.
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Since ESA has launched its first ERS-satellite into orbit more than ten years ago, hundreds of scientists from around the globe have become users of its data for basic and applied research in many areas of geoscience. The global maps and the highly detailed images of these satellites build a unique record of global and regional environmental change over time. A first example of this application Professor is Prof. Lambin's research team at the University o