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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Example of an image affected by the global dust storm that began in late May, and which had engulfed the planet a month later. Although it is now subsiding, the dust in the atmosphere has obscured images taken by orbiting spacecraft.
This image was taken by the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System, CaSSIS, onboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on 3 August. Because the image quality was so reduced, the camera was switched off for much of the storm period, only returning to routine imaging in late August. Despite the challenges, images like these have allowed the team to better calibrate their observations by identifying sources of straylight.