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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This Envisat radar image features the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island (left) in the Canadian Arctic and northwestern Greenland (right) – the world’s largest island.
The aqua blue and white-coloured areas on the right side of the image show a portion of the Greenland Ice Sheet, the second largest concentration of frozen freshwater on Earth after the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
In reddish colours, the Northern Hemisphere's longest-floating glacier, Petermann, can be seen stretching across the centre of the lower part of the image and emptying into Nares Strait. Petermann Glacier lost a 29 km² between 10 July and 25 July 2008.
If the Greenland Ice Sheet were to melt completely, the global sea level would increase by up to 7 m, making it vital to monitor the height of ice sheets and the rate at which they are melting.
Satellite data from 1996-2005 found that Greenland's glaciers were dumping twice as much ice into the Atlantic every year as they did in 1996.