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MISSIONS

Explore the European Space Agency's Earth Observation satellite missions. Learn all about ESA's dedicated Earth Explorers or collaborations with other agencies through the Third Party Missions programme.

  • Mission - Earth Explorers

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    Aeolus

    The Aeolus mission which was launched into space on 22 August 2018 and was retired on 30 April 2023, provided global observations of wind profiles from space to improve the quality of weather forecasts, and to advance our understanding of atmospheric dynamics and climate processes.

  • Mission - Third Party Missions

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    Aura

    NASA's Aura mission studies the chemistry and dynamics of Earth's atmosphere from the ground through the mesosphere.

  • Mission - Earth Explorers

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    Biomass

    The objective of the Biomass mission is to determine the global distribution of forest biomass.

  • Mission - Copernicus Sentinels

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    Copernicus Sentinel-1

    The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission comprises a constellation of two polar-orbiting satellites, operating day and night performing C-band synthetic aperture radar imaging, enabling them to acquire imagery regardless of the weather.

  • Mission - Copernicus Sentinels

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    Copernicus Sentinel-3

    Copernicus Sentinel-3 is an European Earth Observation satellite mission developed to support Copernicus ocean, land, atmospheric, emergency, security and cryospheric applications.

  • Mission - Copernicus Sentinels

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    Copernicus Sentinel-5P

    The Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor mission is the first Copernicus mission dedicated to monitoring our atmosphere.

  • Mission - Third Party Missions

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    COSMO-SkyMed

    COSMO-SkyMed is an Italian Earth-imaging constellation consisting of four identical satellites which launched between 2007 and 2010.

  • Mission - Third Party Missions

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    COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation

    COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation is at the forefront of radar technology, will ensure improvements and guarantee continuity with the First Generation CSK satellites, preserving the high quality and the highest precision features, both required for the interferometric activities.

  • Mission - Third Party Missions

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    COSMO-SkyMed Series

    COSMO-SkyMed (COnstellation of small Satellites for the Mediterranean basin Observation) Series aims to provide global Earth observation that can be repeated several times a day in all-weather conditions.

  • Mission - Earth Explorers

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    EarthCARE

    EarthCARE will examine the role clouds and aerosols play in trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    Envisat

    Envisat was ESA's successor to ERS. Envisat carried ten instruments aboard for a wide range of Earth observing fields. The mission was operational from 2002 to 2012.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    ERS

    The ERS programme was composed of two missions, ERS-1 and ERS-2, which together observed the Earth for 20 years, from 1991 to 2011.

  • Mission - Third Party Missions

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    FSSCat

    The FSSCat mission was an innovative concept that consisted of two federated 6-Unit Cubesats, called ³Cat-5/A and ³Cat-5/B, which operated in support of the Copernicus Land and Marine Environment services.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    GEOSAT

    The GEOSAT series consists of GEOSAT-1 and GEOSAT-2 missions. They are Earth imaging satellites. GEOSAT-2, a high resolution satellite, became the first European fully-private satellite capable of providing sub-metric multi-spectral imagery.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    GEOSAT-1

    GEOSAT-1 is part of a group of satellites collectively known as the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC).

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    GEOSAT-2

    GEOSAT-2 is the second satellite of the Deimos Earth Observation system, following GEOSAT-1.

  • Mission - Third Party Missions

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    GHGSat

    The GHGSat mission is dedicated to measuring emissions of greenhouse gases.

  • Mission - Third Party Missions

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    GOSAT Series

    The GOSAT series is composed of two environment-monitoring satellites developed by JAXA dedicated to the observation of greenhouse gases.

  • Mission - Third Party Missions

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    GOSAT-1

    GOSAT-1 is a Japanese environment-monitoring satellite

  • Mission - Third Party Missions

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    GOSAT-2

    GOSAT-2 (Greenhouse gases Observing Satellite-2) is a JAXA satellite dedicated to the observation of greenhouse gases.