Heritage Missions

The Heritage Mission programme ensures that data from missions that are no longer operational are continuing to aid in present day scientific studies, which have extensive benefits for our society and the ongoing environmental research of the planet.

More than 40 years of preserved Earth observation data, from over 45 remote sensing missions, are available. The preservation of these data supports environment and climate change research; helping scientists discover major breakthroughs in the fight against global warming. Furthermore, information from these missions is also used to support the development of a wide range of operational applications whilst enabling harmonisation between past, present and future missions and their associated data.

Some examples of key missions from the programme include the European Remote Sensing satellites (ERS-1 and ERS-2), Envisat and the Gravity Field and Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE).