ESA Observing the Earth

Swarm tracks elusive ocean magnetism

The magnetic field is arguably one of the most mysterious features of our planet. ESA’s Swarm mission is continually yielding more insight into how our protective shield is generated, how it behaves and how it is changing. Adding yet another string to its bow, Swarm is now tracking changes in the magnetic field produced in the oceans in more detail that ever before.

Crusty detail

Live from EGU

At your fingertips

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Lake Baikal

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Copernicus Masters now open

Awarding outstanding ideas and applications that use Earth observation data to tackle challenges faced by business and society, the Copernicus Masters 2018 competition is now open for submissions.

Antarctica loses grip

ESA’s CryoSat mission has revealed that, over the last seven years, Antarctica has lost an area of underwater ice the size of Greater London. This is because warm ocean water beneath the continent’s floating margins is eating away at the ice attached to the seabed.

Egg Island

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Turning snow orange

Turning snow orange

Sentinel-3B launch preparations in full swing

With the Sentinel-3B satellite now at the Plesetsk launch site in Russia and liftoff set for 25 April, engineers are steaming ahead with the task of getting Europe’s next Copernicus satellite ready for its journey into orbit.

Netherlands ice

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Safeguarding our most precious resource: water

According to this year’s Global Risk Report by the World Economic Forum, water crises are one of the five biggest risks to society. ESA is working with development banks to help water-resource authorities use information from satellites to manage this precious resource.

Giving up forests

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Join us for #Sentinel3 launch

Be a part of Europe’s Earth observation revolution by applying to join experts at one of two Sentinel-3B launch #SocialSpace activities on 25 April.

Sentinels helping to map minerals

The traditional way of mapping Earth’s geology and mineral resources is a costly and time-consuming undertaking. While satellites cannot entirely replace the expert in the field, they can certainly help – as a recent effort in Africa shows.

Fancy a dip?

ESA investigating detection of floating plastic litter from orbit

The millions of tonnes of plastic ending up in the oceans every year are a global challenge. ESA is responding by looking at the detection of marine plastic litter from space, potentially charting its highest concentrations and understanding the gigantic scale of the problem.

ESA testing detection of floating plastic litter from orbit

The millions of tonnes of plastic ending up in the oceans every year are a global challenge. ESA is responding by looking at the detection of marine plastic litter from space, potentially charting its highest concentrations and understanding the gigantic scale of the problem.

ESA testing detection of floating plastic litter from orbit

The millions of tonnes of plastic ending up in the oceans every year are a global challenge. ESA is responding by looking at the detection of marine plastic litter from space, potentially charting its highest concentrations and understanding the gigantic scale of the problem.

Getting to know Steve

Steve – a strange shimmering ribbon of purple light in the night sky – was discovered in 2016, but now, thanks to ESA’s Swarm mission, more is known about this weird feature of the aurora.

Tokyo

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Full house for EDRS

The EDRS–SpaceDataHighway has now begun regularly relaying Earth images from Sentinel-2A, which marks the last of four Copernicus satellites in orbit being brought under the EDRS service.

Voyaging for the Sentinels

Two recent expeditions that took scientists 26 000 km across the Atlantic Ocean have returned critical information to make sure that the Copernicus Sentinel satellites are delivering accurate data about the state of our oceans.

Italy and Mediterranean

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Workhorse mission

Southeast Namibia

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Snowbound Italy

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Bering Strait

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Swarm trio becomes a quartet

With the aim of making the best possible use of existing satellites, ESA and Canada have made a deal that turns Swarm into a four-satellite mission to shed even more light on space weather and features such as the aurora borealis.

Carbon cycle

Profiling the wind

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Swarm details energetic coupling

The Sun bathes our planet in the light and heat it needs to sustain life, but it also bombards us with dangerous charged particles in solar wind. Our magnetic field largely shields from this onslaught, but like many a relationship, it’s somewhat complicated. Thanks to ESA’s Swarm mission the nature of this Earth–Sun coupling has been revealed in more detail than ever before.

Beijing

Island heart

Winter games

Atlantic ship tracks

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Wind satellite survives vacuum

ESA’s Aeolus satellite has been particularly tricky to build. One of the main stumbling blocks has been getting its lasers to work in a vacuum, but recent tests on the satellite show that the vacuum or temperature of space won’t get in the way of Aeolus measuring Earth’s winds.

Change in atmosphere

Sentinel-3B good to go

After being put through its paces to make sure it is fit for life in orbit around Earth, the Copernicus Sentinel-3B satellite is ready to be packed up and shipped to Russia for liftoff.

Tunis wetlands

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Mayon lava

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Yukon Delta

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Sentinel calendar

Changing lands

Marajó

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Sahara snow

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Space helps forests regenerate

Many of us probably think of trees during the festive season more than any other time of the year. With Christmas trees now discarded and decorations packed away, we will be turning our attention back to daily life. The task of cultivating and regenerating forests, however, is a year-long concern – but one that can be made easier and cheaper thanks to satellites and cloud-computing.

Sea and air connected

Reindeer Island

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Tracking aerosols

Orange County

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Accessing Copernicus data made easier

Thanks to the European Union’s Copernicus programme, vast quantities of satellite data are freely available to manage the environment and benefit European citizens. While this offers a wealth of opportunities, downloading and storing these data involves some complex logistical challenges – but this is about to change.

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CO2 and oceans

California in flames

Toulouse

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Bali volcano

Bali volcano

Sentinel-5P brings air pollution into focus

Launched on 13 October, the Sentinel-5P satellite has delivered its first images of air pollution. Even though the satellite is still being prepared for service, these first results have been hailed as exceptional and show how this latest Copernicus satellite is set to take the task of monitoring air quality into a new era.

Amazon River

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Taking air-quality inventories to new heights

The first images from Sentinel-5P will be revealed tomorrow. Although it will be a few months before the satellite is ready for service, these first results are expected to show just how this new Copernicus mission is set to be a game changer for monitoring air quality.

Sentinel-5P first results

Thurston Island

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Forty years of Meteosat

ESA’s first Earth observation satellite was launched on 23 November 1977. When the first Meteosat satellite took its place in the sky, it completed coverage of the whole globe from geostationary orbit and laid the foundations for European and world cooperation in meteorology that continues today.

International Charter wins prestigious Pecora Award

The International Charter Space and Major Disasters has received a distinguished award for providing free satellite imagery, data and information to the global community during times of crises.

Call for Media

Salar de Atacama

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Two new Earth Explorer concepts to understand our rapidly changing world

ESA has chosen two concepts, FORUM and SKIM, to be developed further and compete to be the ninth Earth Explorer mission.

Ozone ups and downs

Climate scientists studying three decades of ozone measurements from seven satellites see a positive trend in global recovery thanks to international efforts to curb ozone-depleting substances.

Viti Levu

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Three years of Sentinel-1

Shared vision strengthens Europe’s space strategy

Working together for three decades, ESA and Eumetsat have been instrumental in positioning Europe as a leader in observing Earth from space. Continuing to share a vision, the two organisations have signed a statement that will strengthen Europe in meteorology and climate monitoring, and that will help to take the Copernicus programme into the future.

Smallsats win big prize at Copernicus Masters

A constellation of small satellites that provide data on Earth’s ice and soil moisture content to complement the Sentinel fleet took the top prize at this year’s Copernicus Masters Competition.

Satellites guide ships in icy waters through the cloud

In late August, the 60 m-long US Coast Guard Cutter Maple completed its navigation through the Arctic’s ice-ridden Northwest Passage. While this was not the first time ships had taken this route, it was the first time that the International Ice Patrol had provided iceberg information based exclusively on satellite imagery.

Satellites guide ships in icy waters through the cloud

In late August, the 60 m-long US Coast Guard Cutter Maple completed its navigation through the Arctic’s ice-ridden Northwest Passage. While this was not the first time ships had taken this route, it was the first time that the International Ice Patrol had provided iceberg information based exclusively on satellite imagery.

Nearly four decades of soil moisture data now available

A new, long-term and global dataset of soil moisture measurements from space has been released to help us better understand the water cycle and climate, monitor agriculture and manage our water resources.

Western Australia

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Wind satellite vacuum packed

With liftoff on the horizon, ESA’s Aeolus satellite is going through its last round of tests to make sure that this complex mission will work in orbit. Over the next month, it is sitting in a large chamber that has had all the air sucked out to simulate the vacuum of space.

Sentinel-5P timelapse

Ready to reap the benefits from Copernicus Sentinel-5P

Now that Sentinel-5P is safely in orbit, engineers have started commissioning the satellite for the task of delivering extremely high-quality information on air quality. Meanwhile, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service is poised to ensure we all reap the benefits from this latest mission.

Halloween crack

Melting snow aids absorption of carbon dioxide

It appears that something good can come from something bad. Although rising global temperatures are causing seasonal snow cover to melt earlier in the spring, this allows for the snow-free boreal forests to absorb more carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.

Washington DC

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Sentinel-1 sees through hurricanes

This year’s Atlantic hurricane season has been a harsh reminder of the grief and devastation brought by these vast storms. Imaging the top of hurricanes from space is nothing new, but the Sentinel-1 satellites can see right through these towering spinning weather systems, measuring the sea surface below to help predict the storm’s path.

Weather and climate

Sagaing Division

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Ireland signs up to Copernicus Sentinel agreement

ESA and Enterprise Ireland have signed an agreement that gives Ireland access to data from the Copernicus Sentinel satellites and helps Ireland to exploit these data to benefit their country.

Watching Ophelia

ESA takes the reins of the Disasters Charter

When disaster strikes, a group of international space agencies pools its resources and expertise to support relief efforts on the ground. For the next six months, ESA will be leading the International Charter Space and Major Disasters as it brings information from satellites to the aid of the vulnerable.