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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 - Heritage Missions

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    ALOS-1

    The Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS-1) was a Japanese Earth-imaging satellite from JAXA.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    DMC First Generation

    The Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) is a constellation of microsatellites formerly coordinated by DMCii to provide frequent observations of the Earth for monitoring natural disasters.

  • 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-1

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

  • Mission - Earth Explorers

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    GOCE

    ESA's Gravity field and Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) mission mapped Earth's geoid very accurately, opening a window into Earth's interior structure as well as the currents circulating within the depths of its oceans.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    GRACE

    GRACE stands for the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment and was a part of the international Earth Observing System (EOS) series of satellites.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    IKONOS-2

    At the time of its launch, IKONOS-2 brought imagery rivalling that of military satellites to the commercial market.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    IRS-1C

    IRS-1C is part of the IRS (Indian Remote Sensing) satellites, a large family of Earth observation satellites operated by ISRO.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    IRS-1C and IRS-1D

    The Indian Remote Sensing satellites IRS-1C and IRS-1D were identical Earth-imaging satellites operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    IRS-1D

    IRS-1D was part of the IRS (Indian Remote Sensing) satellites, a large family of Earth observation satellites operated by ISRO.

  • Mission - Third Party Missions

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    IRS-P5 (Cartosat-1)

    IRS-P5 (Cartosat-1) was a stereoscopic Earth observation satellite that generated Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and other value-added products.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    IRS-P6 (ResourceSat-1)

    IRS-P6 (also known as ResourceSat-1) launched on 17 October 2003 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre by the Indian PSLV-C5, and came to an end on 30 September 2013.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    JERS-1

    The overall objectives of JERS-1 (Japanese Earth Resources Satellite) were the generation of global data sets with SAR and OPS sensors aimed at surveying resources, establishing an integrated Earth observation system

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    KOMPSAT-1

    KOMPSAT-1 (Korean Multi-Purpose Satellite), also known as Arirang-1, was a South Korean Earth observation satellite which was launched on 21 December 1999. KOMPSAT-1 operated for eight years until satellite operations ceased on 30 December 2007 due to a loss of contact.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    KOMPSAT-2

    KOMPSAT-2 (Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite-2), also known as Arirang-2, was developed by KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute) to continue the observation programme of the KOMPSAT-1 mission.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    Landsat-1 to Landsat-3

    The Landsat-1 to 3 satellites were the first in the United States' Landsat programme, dedicated to monitoring the Earth's land mass.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    Landsat-4 and Landsat-5

    The Landsat-4 and Landsat-5 missions continued the Landsat programme's goal of providing moderate-resolution optical remote sensing for land, coastal areas and shallow waters.

  • Mission - Heritage Missions

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    MOS-1/1B

    MOS-1 and 1B, Japan’s first marine observation satellites, were designed to monitor ocean currents, sea surface temperature, atmospheric water vapour, ocean chlorophyll levels, precipitation, and land vegetation.