Proba-V
The Proba-V mission provides multispectral images to study the evolution of the vegetation cover on a daily and global basis. The 'V' stands for Vegetation. This mission is extending the data set of the long-established Vegetation instrument, flown as a secondary payload aboard France's SPOT-4 and SPOT-5 satellites launched in 1998 and 2002 respectively. The latter satellite's Vegetation instrument remains operational to this day, and is expected to remain operational until Q1/2015. The mission, developed as part of ESA's Proba Programme, is an ESA EO mission providing global coverage every two days, with latitudes 35-75°N and 35-56°S covered daily, and between 35°N and 35°S every 2 days. The Proba-V imager's continent-spanning 2250 km field of view collects light in the blue, red, near-infrared and mid-infrared wavebands, ideal for monitoring plant and forest growth as well as inland water bodies. The Vegetation instrument can distinguish between different land cover types and plant species, including crops, to reveal their health, as well as detect water bodies and vegetation burn scars. The SPOT Vegetation dataset has close to 10,000 registered users around the globe and has contributed to hundreds of scientific papers over 15 years. But with further SPOT satellites lacking the capacity to carry Vegetation instruments, Proba-V has been designed to meet the future needs of this group. The Proba-V mission has been developed in the frame of the ESA General Support Technology Program (GSTP). The Contributors to the Proba-V mission are Belgium and Luxembourg. The ESA Earth Watch Programme provides 1km data, which is complemented by a National Programme supplying products at 300m/600m resolution (available as ESA Third Party Mission). More information can be found on the ESA website and VITO website.
Data Access
Mission News
Did you know? New Proba-V infographic21 April 2020ESA's vegetation-monitoring mission - Proba-V - will end operations in June 2020 after seven years. In honour of the occasion, and as the anniversary of the launch in May 2013 approaches, we took the occasion to summarise this minisatellite and its achievements in an infographic. 
Proba-V – Universal Access to Information27 September 2019Proba-V data is free and openly accessible through various portals. The Terrascope platform, built on the technology and expertise gained from the Mission Exploitation Platform (MEP), enables users to access, view, and analyze the Proba-V data in multiple ways and facilitates a more efficient path from data to information and new knowledge on our planet's dynamics.
Image of the Week
Aral Sea23 March 2020World Water Day is held each year on 22 March and focuses on the freshwater importance. It celebrates water's availability and raises awareness for the 2.2 billion people that are living without proper access to clean water.
Mission Facts and Figures
Proba-V is a miniaturised ESA satellite tasked with a full-scale mission: to map land cover and vegetation growth across the entire planet every two days. It is the latest in ESA's Proba series of minisatellites, among the smallest satellites launched by the agency - each one less than a cubic metre in volume. It operates on a sun-synchronous near polar Earth orbit at about 820 km guaranteeing the required swath of 2250 km with an instrument field of view of 102 degrees, compatible with the geographical coverage. The Proba-V satellite carries a new Vegetation instrument, as single operational payload. In the frame of the In Orbit Demonstration, the Proba-V platform also flies 5 technological payloads:
The main satellite features are listed below:
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