ESA Observing the Earth

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Iceberg patrol gains faster updates from orbit

The international iceberg patrol service set up after the sinking of the Titanic is now able to track drifting ice from orbit more swiftly through ESA-backed cloud computing.

ESA and Asian Development Bank join forces

ESA and the Asian Development Bank have signed an agreement to collaborate over the next five years to use information from space to support sustainable development.

ESA and SAP launch new service for analysing satellite data

ESA and the software company SAP have announced the Earth Observation Analysis service for the quick, easy consumption of Earth observation satellite data according to customer needs.

ESA at COP22 climate change summit

The COP22 climate change summit opened today in Marrakesh, Morocco. ESA is joining international partners to report on the status of space-based climate research and propose improvements to how climate data are collected and distributed.

Deal signed for FLEX’s fluorescence finder

ESA has selected Italian company Leonardo to build the main instrument for the upcoming FLEX satellite to study the health of Earth’s vegetation.

Explore Morocco

Explore Morocco

Explore Morocco

ESA and the Vatican join forces to save data in the digital age

At a ceremony held in Vatican City today, ESA and the Vatican Apostolic Library have agreed to continue their years-long cooperation on the preservation, management and exploitation of archived information.

Pío XI

Sentinel satellites reveal east–west shift in Italian quake

New information on the effects of the 30 October earthquake that struck central Italy continues to emerge as scientists analyse radar scans from satellites.

Earth from Space

Italy on the move

Swarm reveals why satellites lose track

Satellite engineers have been puzzling over why GPS navigation systems on low-orbiting satellites like ESA’s Swarm sometimes black out when they fly over the equator between Africa and South America. Thanks to Swarm, it appears ‘thunderstorms’ in the ionosphere are to blame.

Keep an automatic eye on seismic zones

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 twin radar satellites combined with cloud computing are monitoring Europe’s earthquake zones by searching for ground shifts as small as a millimetre. 

Putorana Plateau

Earth from Space

Sentinel Hub wins Copernicus Masters prize

A cloud-based web service that allows non-expert users to browse, process and distribute large amounts of Earth observation data takes home this year’s Copernicus Masters grand prize.

Fish farms guided by Sentinels and the cloud

A new service harnesses three decades of satellite observations of coastal zones made available through a cloud-based system to provide a rich information source for fisheries, one of our fastest growing sources of food.

Kathmandu

Earth from Space

Earth’s most active volcanoes on satellite watch

As hundreds flee lava and ash spewed from Mexico’s Colima volcano, its continuing eruption is being tracked not only by ground instruments but also from space. Starting last month, Colima is one of 22 active volcanoes worldwide being monitored by satellites.

Earth from Space

Sentinel-3A Earth colour data released

Today, the Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellite has taken another step towards being fully ‘operational’ as the first data from its Ocean and Land Colour Instrument are made available to monitor the health of our planet.

SMOS on speed

While ESA’s water mission was built to advance our understanding of Earth, it continues to show how well it’s suited to delivering information for numerous applications that improve everyday life. Taking this a step further, soil moisture data products are now available within three hours of measurement, which is essential for many applications.

Vatnajökull

Earth from Space

The way ahead

Earth from Space

Eye of the storm

What are TEPs?

Shanghai

Business in the ever-changing digital world

In an era of profound digital transformation, business leaders and IT experts are convening at ESA’s mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, today for the first SAP Digital Leaders’ Summit.

Earth from Space

Sustainable cities

Magnetic oceans and electric Earth

Oceans might not be thought of as magnetic, but they make a tiny contribution to our planet’s protective magnetic shield. Remarkably, ESA’s Swarm satellites have not only measured this extremely faint field, but have also led to new discoveries about the electrical nature of inner Earth.

Earth from Space

Ouarkziz crater

Satellites help understand what fuels the twilight zone

The deep, dark twilight zone a kilometre down in the ocean is home to most of the world’s fish, but how they get enough food has largely been a mystery. Now, thanks to satellites and floating sensors, scientists have worked out how much energy is being pumped to the depths.

Alakol Lake

Earth from Space

Sentinel-2 website

Copernicus Sentinel-2

Sentinel-1 mission site with icon

Copernicus Sentinel-1

Sentinel-1 mission site with icon

Copernicus Sentinel-1