* Astronomy

With three Earth Explorer satellites set to launch this year, another three under construction and up to three more about to be selected for feasibility study, 2009 promises to be a significant year for ESA's contribution to Earth science - paving the way to a clearer understanding of how our planet works.
Understanding how the Earth works and the way in which natural processes respond to global climate change is a major challenge facing science today. Encompassing a new approach to observing the Earth from space, ESA's Earth Explorer missions are developed in direct response to a range of Earth-science challenges identified by the scientific community.  

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