About Copernicus Sentinel-2 Mission:
- It is an Earth observation satellite mission developed by the European Space Agency (ESA).
- It is part of Copernicus - the European Union’s Earth observation program.
- It aims at monitoring variability in land surface conditions.
- It comprises a land monitoring constellation of two polar-orbiting satellites placed in the same sun-synchronous orbit.
- It delivers high-resolution optical multispectral imagery in the visible to shortwave infrared.
- This data supports a wide range of applications, including precision agriculture, food security, ecosystems monitoring, disaster management (e.g., volcanoes, wildfires, floods, landslides), water quality assessment, and observing anthropogenic methane emissions.
Key Facts about Copernicus Programme:
- It is the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space programme.
- This initiative is headed by the European Commission (EC) in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA).
- It offers information services that draw from satellite Earth observation and in-situ (non-space) data.
- The programme consists of a complex set of systems that collect data from multiple sources, including Earth Observation satellites, in-situ sensors like ground stations, and airborne and sea-borne sensors.
- Users have free and open access to a great deal of this data, which is also processed to provide a set of services based on reliable and near-real-time information.
- ESA has developed a new family of satellites, called Sentinels, specifically for the operational needs of Copernicus.
