Copernicus - sporedata/researchdesigneR GitHub Wiki

General description

Copernicus is the most ambitious Earth observation program headed by the European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Copernicus provides accurate, easily accessible, and timely information to improve the management of the environment, ensure civil security, and understand and mitigate the effects of climate change.

The Space Component of Copernicus is managed by ESA and serves users with satellite data available through the Sentinels (a family of dedicated satellites) and the Contributing Missions (existing commercial and public satellites) at national, European, and international levels. The Sentinels and contributing missions serve Copernicus. The Sentinel satellites are specifically designed to address the needs of the Copernicus services and their users and carry a range of technologies, including radar and multi-spectral imaging instruments for atmospheric, land, and ocean monitoring.

Six Sentinel Expansion missions address EU gaps and policy in Copernicus user needs and expand the Copernicus Space Component's current capabilities.

  • Sentinel-1 provides all-weather, day, and night radar imagery for land and ocean services.
  • Sentinel-2 delivers high-resolution optical images for land services.
  • Sentinel-3 delivers high-accuracy altimetry, optical, and radar data for services relevant to the land and ocean.
  • Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 provide data for monitoring atmospheric composition from geostationary and polar orbits, respectively. Both Sentinels will be instruments carried on the next generation of meteorological satellites: Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) and MetOp Second Generation.
  • Sentinel-5 Precursor bridges the gap between Envisat (Sciamachy data in particular) and Sentinel-5. As the forerunner of Sentinel-5, Sentinel-5 Precursor provides timely data on many aerosols and trace gases affecting air quality and climate.
  • Sentinel-6 provides radar altimetry data to provide high-precision and timely observations of the global topography and measure global sea-surface height, primarily for climate studies and operational oceanography.

Related publications

Data access

Copernicus data and information: ESA Copernicus Open Access Hub or Conventional Data Access Hubs. You can also create your EUMETSAT user account at EUMETSAT Copernicus Online Data Access point.