ESA has been dedicated to observing the Earth from space since the launch of its first meteorological mission, Meteosat, in 1977. The later series of Meteosat satellites plus ERS-1, ERS-2, Envisat and more have provided us with invaluable data about the Earth, its climate and changing environment.
ESA mission controllers manage some of the most sophisticated Earth observation spacecraft ever built. Proba-1, GOCE and CryoSat-2 are in orbit, while the mission control infrastructure for more vital missions is in development. An additional mission, SMOS, is being operated for ESA by CNES, France's space agency, from Toulouse.
