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How to use space data to probe humankind’s ancient past
Data disseminated by ESA’s Third Party Missions (TPM) programme are enabling archaeological investigations that could help to unravel the mysteries of past societies and cultures.
PROBA-V’s companion explores low-cost remote sensing
With the launch of PROBA-V’s Companion CubeSat (PV-CC), ESA supports a future where clusters of cheaper, small satellites could complement full-scale missions for Earth observation.
Meet one of ESA's first Africa Programme Research Fellows
Research Fellow, Dr Gladys Mosomtai, from the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), works on applying Earth observation data to better understand the spread of infectious disease in livestock, in Kenya.
PROBA-V data improve surface albedo products in Africa
As ESA’s PROBA-V satellite marks its 10-year launch milestone, data tasked during the mission’s lifetime are still being used to assess changes in land cover.
PROBA-V ‘Collection 2’ - Reprocessed Dataset available
The improved PROBA-V data (Collection 2) has been released. Data is available via the PROBA-V MEP and Terrascope platforms so users can freely exploit the data using Virtual machines, Jupyter Notebooks, and the new viewing application.
Global understanding of Earth's land surfaces greatly boosted by satellite data
ESA perform land surface monitoring with a range of instruments onboard satellites acquiring optical and radar data. Collections of data from these missions are freely available for research purposes.
New worldwide dataset captures the planet in fine detail
Scientists have developed an open source planetwide dataset of high-resolution Earth observation imagery, thanks to commercial data delivered by ESA’s Third Party Missions (TPM) programme.
Campaign using surface reflectance data to support validation of Earth observation products
Scientists from around the world are set to take part in a drone monitoring campaign and inter-comparison exercise that will deliver surface reflectance data to support the validation of Earth observation products.
Satellite data boost global understanding of land surface
Understanding our changing land surface is essential in the study of climate change. Satellites are used to monitor changes to the material that covers Earth’s surface, so-called land cover, such as vegetation and water.
Ship trails in the Bay of Biscay observed using PROBA-V imagery
Ship trails have been perceived as convincing evidence of aerosol-cloud interaction. Ship emissions have been proven to contribute by about 1.9% and 2.9% to the increase in the global total and fine-mode aerosol optical thickness (AOT) respectively over a five year period (Peters et al. 20212).
An overview of ESA's Third Party Missions programme
ESA’s Third Party Missions programme consists of almost 50 satellite missions, which are owned by organisations around the world. ESA has agreements with these organisations to acquire, process, and distribute data from their missions
Φ-Week Triumphs
In its fourth edition, Φ-Week presented the scientific community with amazing opportunities and projects—thus running alongside innovation at 360 degrees.
SPOT-6 to 7 full archive and tasking
The SPOT 6 and 7 satellites ensure data continuity with the no longer operational SPOT 5 satellite and provide an archive of very high resolution optical acquisition as well as the possibility to task the satellites for new acquisitions. Following the completion of the SPOT 7 mission in March 2023, new acquisition tasking is only available for the SPOT 6 satellite. The ortho-products are automatically generated by the SPOT 6 and 7 ground segment, based on SRTM database or Reference3D when available. The projection available for SPOT 6 and 7 ortho-products is UTM, datum WGS84. Bands combinations: Pansharpened: colour image at 1.5 m resolution Bundle: 1.5 m panchromatic image and 6 m multispectral image. Geometric processing levels: Primary: The Primary product is the processing level closest to the natural image acquired by the sensor. This product restores perfect collection conditions: the sensor is placed in rectilinear geometry, and the image is clear of all radiometric distortion. Standard Ortho: The Ortho product is a georeferenced image in Earth geometry, corrected from acquisition and terrain off-nadir effects. Tailored ortho: Aside from the Standard Ortho product, when different specifications are needed, a custom orthorectification, with a more precise 3D model provided by the client or acquired for the purpose, can be provided on demand. As per ESA policy, very high-resolution imagery of conflict areas cannot be provided.
1 km resolution aerosol optical thickness retrieved from PROBA-V
The ESA SPAR@MEP project aims to deliver a long-term data record (LTDR) of aerosol optical properties and surface reflectance from SPOT-VGT and PROBA-V observations.
PROBA-V - ESA's vegetation monitoring mission
ESA's vegetation-monitoring mission - Proba-V - will end operations in June 2020 after seven years.
SPOT 6 and 7 ESA archive
The SPOT 6 and 7 ESA archive is a dataset of SPOT 6 and SPOT 7 products that ESA collected over the years. The dataset regularly grows as ESA collects new SPOT 6 and 7 products. SPOT 6 and 7 Primary and Ortho products can be available in the following modes: Panchromatic image at 1.5m resolution Pansharpened colour image at 1.5m resolution Multispectral image in 4 spectral bands at 6m resolution Bundle (1.5m panchromatic image + 6m multispectral image) Spatial coverage: Check the spatial coverage of the collection on a map available on the Third Party Missions Dissemination Service. As per ESA policy, very high-resolution imagery of conflict areas cannot be provided.
PROBA-V 1 km, 333 m, and 100 m products
The PROBA-V VEGETATION Raw products and Synthesis products provided coverage of all significant landmasses worldwide with, in the case of a 10-day synthesis product, a minimum effect of cloud cover, resulting from selection of cloud-free acquisitions during the 10-day period. It provided a daily coverage between Latitudes 35°N and 75°N, and between 35°S and 56°S, and a full coverage every two days at the equator. The VEGETATION instrument was pre-programmed with an indefinite repeated sequence of acquisitions. This nominal acquisition scenario allowed a continuous series of identical products to be generated, with the goal to map land cover and vegetation growth across the entire planet every two days. Level Synthesis Resolution resolution (m) Reflectance Level-1C n/a TOA Level-2A n/a 100 m TOA 333 m TOA 1 km TOA Level-3 S1 100 m TOA TOC TOC NDVI 333 m TOA TOC 1 km TOA TOC S5 100 m TOA TOC TOC NDVI S10 333 m TOC TOC NDVI 1 km TOC TOC NDVI Raw Products Overview Product Description Level-1C Level-1C segments (P – product): Radiometrically corrected Level-1B data, in raw sensor geometry (unprojected) Contains: - Top Of Atmosphere reflectance in the four spectral bands - Longitude/latitude information for every pixel - Geometric viewing conditions - Information on the status map (indicating missing and interpolated measurements). Format: HDF5 & GeoTiFF Level-2A Level-2A segment: projected Level-1C (P–product) data, radiometrically and geometrically corrected. Contains: - TOA reflectance values in the four spectral bands without atmospheric correction being performed - Information on the status map (containing identification of radiometric quality, snow, ice, shadow, clouds, land/sea for every pixel) - Geometric viewing conditions Plate carrée projection (EPSG:4326) with spatial resolution of 100 m, 333 m and 1 km Format: HDF5 & GeoTiFF Synthesis Products Overview Level-3 S1 = daily, S5 = 5 days, S10 = decade Different spatial resolution: 100 m, 333 m and 1 km Divided into so called granules, each measuring 10 degrees x 10 degrees, each granule being delivered as a single file Plate carrée projection (EPSG:4326) Format: HDF5 & GeoTiFF Products Content TOA - Top Of Atmosphere reflectance in the four spectral bands (no atmospheric correction applied) - Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) -Information on the composite status map (containing identification of snow, ice, shadow, clouds, land/sea for every pixel) - Geometric viewing conditions & date and time of selected measurement TOC Level-2A segment: projected Level-1C (P–product) data, radiometrically and geometrically corrected. Contains: - Top Of Canopy (ground surface) reflectance in the four spectral bands, the atmospheric correction being performed using the SMAC (Simplified Method for Atmospheric Corrections) algorithm - Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) - Information on the composite status map (containing identification of snow, ice, shadow, clouds, land/sea for every pixel) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Top Of Canopy product (SMAC algorithm for atmospheric corrections applied) - Geometric viewing conditions & date and time of selected measurement TOC NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Top Of Canopy product (SMAC algorithm for atmospheric corrections applied)
FRM4VEG: Fiducial Reference Measurements for Vegetation
Fiducial Reference Measurements for Vegetation (FRM4VEG) is an ESA managed project focused on establishing the protocols required for traceable in-situ measurements of vegetation
PV-LAC-ATMO
The objective of PV-LAC-ATMO Activity is to investigate the added value of a joint surface reflectance.
PV-CDRR
The objective of the Proba-V Cloud Detection Round Robin (PV-CDRR) is to learn advantages and drawbacks of the different approaches for various cloud and surface conditions.