ESA Observing the Earth

Counting wildfires across the globe

In recent weeks, devastating wildfires have spread in Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia and Canada, causing human casualties as well as massive environmental and economic damage.

While wildfires are a natural part of many ecosystems, scientists have warned that they are becoming more frequent and more widespread. In response, an upgraded version of ESA’s World Fire Atlas is now available providing a detailed analysis of wildfires across the globe.

Simulating Aeolus’s demise: a bird’s eye view

Aeolus’s mission is over, but weather forecasting is improved forever, and a new precedent has been set for safe satellite reentries. The trailblazing Earth Explorer returned through our atmosphere on 28 July, following the path it was guided on by ESA’s mission control over Earth’s most uninhabited regions, finally disintegrating over the Antarctic. 

A week-long series of manoeuvres led to this point. They had never been performed before and pushed the satellite to its limits. Aeolus was never designed to fly at such low altitudes – its thrusters and fuel reserves were not made to operate in the thick lower reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. 

Despite choppy skies and one evening where it seemed the attempt could fail, the successful reentry lowered the already small risk of surviving fragments landing where they shouldn’t. 

The chance of satellite debris falling on your head is three times less than a meteorite doing the same. Despite this, as our orbital highways get busier and reentries become more common, ESA went above and beyond to lower this even further. 

By turning Aeolus’s original fate – an uncontrolled, ‘natural’ reentry – into an assisted one, they reduced that risk another 42 times. 

This animation shows how the final moments for Aeolus could have gone, set to a sonification of Aeolus data, composed by Jamie Perera. 

Find out more about Aeolus’s final moments in the Rocket Science blog.

This simulation is created using a model of the Aeolus spacecraft, considering its shape, size, mass and materials, and the effect of 'aerothermodynamics' - the study of how high-velocity gases behave, including thermal effects between gases and solid surfaces.

The tool used, SCARAB, creates a simulation of Aeolus's reentry with ‘six degrees of freedom’, and shows the final moments of Aeolus's reentry, when the spacecraft is falling naturally in an uncontrolled descent.

Elements: FIRE

The summer fire season is well under way in Europe – countries all around the Mediterranean are experiencing record temperatures coupled with huge wildfires that have led to mass evacuations. In this enthralling new ESA documentary, explore how people on the frontline are using space to better monitor and fight the flames.

Follow the incredible stories of the firefighters who dealt with unprecedented fires in Gironde, France, and the forest officers using satellite data to plan for the forests’ recovery. Journey into the heart of Earth's elemental might and discover how space is changing the game for monitoring volcanic eruptions too – including one of the world’s most studied volcano, Mount Etna.

FIRE is the first episode of ESA’s new series centred around the elements and showcases how Earth observation has become crucial to those fighting climate change on the ground.

Elements: FIRE

English:

The summer fire season is well under way in Europe – countries all around the Mediterranean are experiencing record temperatures coupled with huge wildfires that have led to mass evacuations. In this enthralling new ESA documentary, explore how people on the frontline are using space to better monitor and fight the flames.

Follow the incredible stories of the firefighters who dealt with unprecedented fires in Gironde, France, and the forest officers using satellite data to plan for the forests’ recovery. Journey into the heart of Earth's elemental might and discover how space is changing the game for monitoring volcanic eruptions too – including one of the world’s most studied volcano, Mount Etna.

FIRE is the first episode of ESA’s new series centred around the elements and showcases how Earth observation has become crucial to those fighting climate change on the ground.

French:

La saison estivale des feux de forêts bat son plein en Europe – mais comment l’espace peut-il aider ceux qui combattent les flammes? Dans ce nouveau documentaire « FIRE » en version française, suivez les pompiers de Gironde qui ont fait face l’été dernier à des incendies sans précédent. Inspectez les arbres encore vivants dans les Landes et détectez avec les experts de l’Office National des Forêts les invasions de scolytes, petits insectes qui s’attaquent aux arbres vulnérables. Enfin, découvrez comment les satellites ont changé la donne pour observer l’activité des volcans – on vous emmène sur l’Etna !

FIRE est le premier épisode d’une nouvelle série de films de l'ESA centrée sur les éléments. La série explore la façon dont l'observation de la Terre par satellite est devenue cruciale pour tous ceux qui sont en première ligne pour gérer les crises liées au changement climatique.

Elements: FIRE

English:

The summer fire season is well under way in Europe – countries all around the Mediterranean are experiencing record temperatures coupled with huge wildfires that have led to mass evacuations. In this enthralling new ESA documentary, explore how people on the frontline are using space to better monitor and fight the flames.

Follow the incredible stories of the firefighters who dealt with unprecedented fires in Gironde, France, and the forest officers using satellite data to plan for the forests’ recovery. Journey into the heart of Earth's elemental might and discover how space is changing the game for monitoring volcanic eruptions too – including one of the world’s most studied volcano, Mount Etna.

FIRE is the first episode of ESA’s new series centred around the elements and showcases how Earth observation has become crucial to those fighting climate change on the ground.

French:

La saison estivale des feux de forêts bat son plein en Europe – mais comment l’espace peut-il venir en appui de tous ceux qui les combattent ? Dans cet extrait de notre nouveau documentaire « FIRE », suivez les pompiers de Gironde qui ont dû faire face à des incendies sans précédent l’année dernière.

FIRE est le premier épisode d’une nouvelle série de films de l'ESA centrée sur les éléments. La série explorera la façon dont l'observation de la Terre est devenue cruciale pour tous ceux qui sont en première ligne pour gérer les crises liées au changement climatique.

Une version française du film dans son entier sera disponible très bientôt.

Elements: FIRE

English:

The summer fire season is well under way in Europe – countries all around the Mediterranean are experiencing record temperatures coupled with huge wildfires that have led to mass evacuations. In this enthralling new ESA documentary, explore how people on the frontline are using space to better monitor and fight the flames.

Follow the incredible stories of the firefighters who dealt with unprecedented fires in Gironde, France, and the forest officers using satellite data to plan for the forests’ recovery. Journey into the heart of Earth's elemental might and discover how space is changing the game for monitoring volcanic eruptions too – including one of the world’s most studied volcano, Mount Etna.

FIRE is the first episode of ESA’s new series centred around the elements and showcases how Earth observation has become crucial to those fighting climate change on the ground.

French:

La saison estivale des feux de forêts bat son plein en Europe – mais comment l’espace peut-il aider ceux qui combattent les flammes? Dans ce nouveau documentaire « FIRE » en version française, suivez les pompiers de Gironde qui ont fait face l’été dernier à des incendies sans précédent. Inspectez les arbres encore vivants dans les Landes et détectez avec les experts de l’Office National des Forêts les invasions de scolytes, petits insectes qui s’attaquent aux arbres vulnérables. Enfin, découvrez comment les satellites ont changé la donne pour observer l’activité des volcans – on vous emmène sur l’Etna !

FIRE est le premier épisode d’une nouvelle série de films de l'ESA centrée sur les éléments. La série explore la façon dont l'observation de la Terre par satellite est devenue cruciale pour tous ceux qui sont en première ligne pour gérer les crises liées au changement climatique.

German:

In diesem Sommer kam es in Ländern rund um das Mittelmeer zu Rekordtemperaturen und großen Waldbränden, die zu Massenevakuierungen führten. In dieser spannenden neuen ESA-Dokumentation erfahren Sie, wie Menschen an vorderster Front den Weltraum nutzen, um die Brände besser zu überwachen und zu bekämpfen. Verfolgen Sie die unglaublichen Geschichten der Feuerwehrleute, die letztes Jahr mit beispiellosen Bränden in der Gironde (Frankreich) zu kämpfen hatten, und der Forstbeamten, die Satellitendaten nutzten, um die Erholung der Wälder zu planen. Reisen Sie in das Herz der elementaren Macht der Erde und entdecken Sie, wie der Weltraum auch die Überwachung von Vulkanausbrüchen verändert – darunter der am besten untersuchte Vulkan der Welt, der Ätna. FEUER ist die erste Folge der neuen ESA-Serie rund um die Elemente und zeigt, wie wichtig die Erdbeobachtung aus dem All für diejenigen geworden ist, die den Klimawandel vor Ort bekämpfen.

Elements: FIRE

English:

The summer fire season is well under way in Europe – countries all around the Mediterranean are experiencing record temperatures coupled with huge wildfires that have led to mass evacuations. In this enthralling new ESA documentary, explore how people on the frontline are using space to better monitor and fight the flames.

Follow the incredible stories of the firefighters who dealt with unprecedented fires in Gironde, France, and the forest officers using satellite data to plan for the forests’ recovery. Journey into the heart of Earth's elemental might and discover how space is changing the game for monitoring volcanic eruptions too – including one of the world’s most studied volcano, Mount Etna.

FIRE is the first episode of ESA’s new series centred around the elements and showcases how Earth observation has become crucial to those fighting climate change on the ground.

French:

La saison estivale des feux de forêts bat son plein en Europe – mais comment l’espace peut-il aider ceux qui combattent les flammes? Dans ce nouveau documentaire « FIRE » en version française, suivez les pompiers de Gironde qui ont fait face l’été dernier à des incendies sans précédent. Inspectez les arbres encore vivants dans les Landes et détectez avec les experts de l’Office National des Forêts les invasions de scolytes, petits insectes qui s’attaquent aux arbres vulnérables. Enfin, découvrez comment les satellites ont changé la donne pour observer l’activité des volcans – on vous emmène sur l’Etna !

FIRE est le premier épisode d’une nouvelle série de films de l'ESA centrée sur les éléments. La série explore la façon dont l'observation de la Terre par satellite est devenue cruciale pour tous ceux qui sont en première ligne pour gérer les crises liées au changement climatique.

German:

In diesem Sommer kam es in Ländern rund um das Mittelmeer zu Rekordtemperaturen und großen Waldbränden, die zu Massenevakuierungen führten. In dieser spannenden neuen ESA-Dokumentation erfahren Sie, wie Menschen an vorderster Front den Weltraum nutzen, um die Brände besser zu überwachen und zu bekämpfen. Verfolgen Sie die unglaublichen Geschichten der Feuerwehrleute, die letztes Jahr mit beispiellosen Bränden in der Gironde (Frankreich) zu kämpfen hatten, und der Forstbeamten, die Satellitendaten nutzten, um die Erholung der Wälder zu planen. Reisen Sie in das Herz der elementaren Macht der Erde und entdecken Sie, wie der Weltraum auch die Überwachung von Vulkanausbrüchen verändert – darunter der am besten untersuchte Vulkan der Welt, der Ätna. FEUER ist die erste Folge der neuen ESA-Serie rund um die Elemente und zeigt, wie wichtig die Erdbeobachtung aus dem All für diejenigen geworden ist, die den Klimawandel vor Ort bekämpfen.

Spanish:

En este nuevo y apasionante documental de la ESA, explora cómo las personas utilizan el espacio para monitorear y combatir mejor las llamas en primera línea. Sigue las increíbles historias de los bomberos que se ocuparon de incendios sin precedentes en Gironda, Francia, y de los agentes forestales que utilizaron datos satelitales para planificar la recuperación de los bosques. Viaja al corazón de la Tierra y descubre cómo el espacio también está cambiando las reglas del juego para monitorear las erupciones volcánicas, incluidas las de uno de los volcanes más estudiados del mundo, el Monte Etna. FIRE es el primer episodio de la nueva serie de la ESA centrada en los elementos que muestra cómo la observación de la Tierra se ha vuelto crucial para quienes luchan contra el cambio climático sobre el terreno.

Elements: FIRE

English:

The summer fire season is well under way in Europe – countries all around the Mediterranean are experiencing record temperatures coupled with huge wildfires that have led to mass evacuations. In this enthralling new ESA documentary, explore how people on the frontline are using space to better monitor and fight the flames.

Follow the incredible stories of the firefighters who dealt with unprecedented fires in Gironde, France, and the forest officers using satellite data to plan for the forests’ recovery. Journey into the heart of Earth's elemental might and discover how space is changing the game for monitoring volcanic eruptions too – including one of the world’s most studied volcano, Mount Etna.

FIRE is the first episode of ESA’s new series centred around the elements and showcases how Earth observation has become crucial to those fighting climate change on the ground.

French:

La saison estivale des feux de forêts bat son plein en Europe – mais comment l’espace peut-il aider ceux qui combattent les flammes? Dans ce nouveau documentaire « FIRE » en version française, suivez les pompiers de Gironde qui ont fait face l’été dernier à des incendies sans précédent. Inspectez les arbres encore vivants dans les Landes et détectez avec les experts de l’Office National des Forêts les invasions de scolytes, petits insectes qui s’attaquent aux arbres vulnérables. Enfin, découvrez comment les satellites ont changé la donne pour observer l’activité des volcans – on vous emmène sur l’Etna !

FIRE est le premier épisode d’une nouvelle série de films de l'ESA centrée sur les éléments. La série explore la façon dont l'observation de la Terre par satellite est devenue cruciale pour tous ceux qui sont en première ligne pour gérer les crises liées au changement climatique.

German:

In diesem Sommer kam es in Ländern rund um das Mittelmeer zu Rekordtemperaturen und großen Waldbränden, die zu Massenevakuierungen führten. In dieser spannenden neuen ESA-Dokumentation erfahren Sie, wie Menschen an vorderster Front den Weltraum nutzen, um die Brände besser zu überwachen und zu bekämpfen. Verfolgen Sie die unglaublichen Geschichten der Feuerwehrleute, die letztes Jahr mit beispiellosen Bränden in der Gironde (Frankreich) zu kämpfen hatten, und der Forstbeamten, die Satellitendaten nutzten, um die Erholung der Wälder zu planen. Reisen Sie in das Herz der elementaren Macht der Erde und entdecken Sie, wie der Weltraum auch die Überwachung von Vulkanausbrüchen verändert – darunter der am besten untersuchte Vulkan der Welt, der Ätna. FEUER ist die erste Folge der neuen ESA-Serie rund um die Elemente und zeigt, wie wichtig die Erdbeobachtung aus dem All für diejenigen geworden ist, die den Klimawandel vor Ort bekämpfen.

Spanish:

En este nuevo y apasionante documental de la ESA, explora cómo las personas utilizan el espacio para monitorear y combatir mejor las llamas en primera línea. Sigue las increíbles historias de los bomberos que se ocuparon de incendios sin precedentes en Gironda, Francia, y de los agentes forestales que utilizaron datos satelitales para planificar la recuperación de los bosques. Viaja al corazón de la Tierra y descubre cómo el espacio también está cambiando las reglas del juego para monitorear las erupciones volcánicas, incluidas las de uno de los volcanes más estudiados del mundo, el Monte Etna. FIRE es el primer episodio de la nueva serie de la ESA centrada en los elementos que muestra cómo la observación de la Tierra se ha vuelto crucial para quienes luchan contra el cambio climático sobre el terreno.

Italian:

In questo nuovo avvincente documentario dell'ESA, esplora come le persone in prima linea utilizzano lo spazio per monitorare e combattere meglio le fiamme. Segui le incredibili storie dei vigili del fuoco che hanno affrontato incendi senza precedenti nella Gironda, in Francia, e delle guardie forestali che utilizzano i dati satellitari per pianificare il recupero delle foreste. Viaggia nel cuore della forza primordiale della Terra e scopri come lo spazio sta avendo un impatto anche nel monitoraggio delle eruzioni vulcaniche, incluso uno dei vulcani più studiati al mondo, l'Etna. FIRE è il primo episodio della nuova serie dell’ESA incentrata sugli elementi e mostra come l’osservazione della Terra sia diventata cruciale per coloro che combattono i cambiamenti climatici sul campo.

Aeolus: a historic end to a trailblazing mission

Surpassing scientific expectations and exceeding its planned life in orbit, the Aeolus wind mission has been hailed as one of ESA’s most successful Earth observation missions. And now, its end will go down in history too, thanks to the ingenuity of the Agency’s mission control team who guided this remarkable satellite down to Earth’s atmosphere for a safe reentry.

Earth from Space: Río de la Plata

Aeolus reentry - LIVE

Aeolus reentry - LIVE

Get rolling updates on the Aeolus reentry, on the Rocket Science blog

Historic Aeolus reentry – how it happened

Historic Aeolus reentry – how it happened

Get rolling updates on the Aeolus reentry, on the Rocket Science blog

Aeolus reentry: the breakdown

After a remarkable life in orbit, Aeolus is out of fuel and out of time – it’s returning to Earth this week. Planned and built before any regulations were put in place on ‘end-of-life’ disposal, the Earth Explorer was designed to naturally return through our atmosphere.

After months of detailed planning and analysis, ESA together with industrial partners has designed a complex and never-before-performed set of manoeuvres to control, as much as possible, Aeolus’ fall. 

The assisted reentry attempt is built on four main phases, now begun at ESA’s mission control: 

• Phase I: once Aeolus has fallen naturally to 280 km, the first manoeuvre is performed – the largest in the mission’s five years in orbit. The main objectives are to lower the satellite down to 250 km and to check how the satellite behaves when executing a large manoeuvre at such low altitudes – more than three times the size of any performed during routine operations.
• Phase II: after three to five days, a series of four manoeuvres will lower Aeolus’s ‘perigee altitude’ – the point in orbit closest to Earth – down to an altitude of about 150 km. 
• Phase III: a final manoeuvre will lower Aeolus to a perigee altitude of 120 km. 
• Phase IV: in the final, shortest phase, Aeolus the spacecraft becomes space debris, completing its final descent in just a few Earth revolutions. 

In this animation, round regions temporarily lit up in bright green show the moments that Aeolus is in contact with antennas on Earth. It is in these periods that mission control is in touch with the satellite and can send up commands and get its data down.

Aeolus is repeatedly turned, or ‘slewed’ by 180° in order to switch from the routine orientation (or ‘attitude’), in which the satellite’s ‘X-band’ antenna points toward Earth and the GPS can function to track the mission – crucial to maintaining knowledge of its position – and the ‘retrograde’ attitude.

This second, ‘upside down’ position is necessary for the thrusters to fire in the opposite direction to Aeolus’s flight direction, causing it to lose energy and lower in orbit.

While the ultimate goal is for the spacecraft to burn up as it reenters through the atmosphere, teams need to keep it functioning long enough that they can continue to send up commands and control it on its path.

After the final commands are sent, Aeolus will be ‘passivated’. Passivation is when any energy onboard a spacecraft is removed, for example, its propellant or batteries. Doing this prevents explosions and fragmentation events, that could cause the release of lots of pieces of unwanted space debris.

For Aeolus, already out of fuel, it will simply be turned off. After this point, teams at mission control will continue to monitor the situation until Aeolus’s ultimate reentry location is confirmed.

For rolling updates on Aeolus's reentry, follow ‘Aeolus reentry: live’ on the Rocket Science blog. 

Credits: ESA - Montserrat Piñol Solé

Music: Yesterday’s Hero by Steve Rothery, published by Tunecore. Used with permission of Steve Rothery.

Litli-Hrútur eruption seen from space

On 10 July 2023, a volcano some 30 km from Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, erupted following heightened seismic activity in the area. Satellites orbiting above us have captured the molten lava and smoke plume puffing from the Litli-Hrútur volcano.

Satellites unveil the far-reaching impact of irrigation

Globally, more than 70% of the freshwater withdrawn from Earth’s surface or from underground is used to irrigate crops. The need to produce more food for a growing population against the backdrop of climate change is challenging enough, but satellites reveal that extracting water doesn’t just affect the local environment – there are knock-on consequences for many aspects of the Earth system.

Rhodes wildfire forces thousands to flee

Journey back to Earth: Aeolus' historic reentry

ESA’s wind mission Aeolus is coming home. After five years of improving weather forecasts, the satellite will return in a first-of-its-kind assisted reentry. At ESA’s Space Operations Centre in Germany, mission control will use the satellite’s remaining fuel to steer Aeolus during its return to Earth.

Find out more about the mission, its successes and how Aeolus is paving the way for safe reentries.

Earth from Space: New York

Satellites map aftermath of Emilia-Romagna floods

The Italian region of Emilia-Romagna was devastated by severe floods in May 2023, claiming lives and displacing thousands of people, resulting in an estimated €8.8 billion in damages. With the region still grappling with the aftermath, satellites have been instrumental in assessing the damages of the affected areas.

Replay: Aeolus reentry media briefing

After completing its mission in orbit, ESA’s wind mission Aeolus will soon reenter Earth's atmosphere. Currently orbiting 320 km above, Aeolus is being kept in orbit with its remaining fuel. This fuel is running out, and the satellite will soon succumb to Earth’s atmosphere and gravity.  

Going above and beyond what the satellite was technically designed to do, ESA is attempting a first-of-its-kind assisted reentry to reduce the (already very small) risk of damage from any fragments that survive the journey and reach the ground.

ESA held an online media briefing on 19 July 2023 to explain more about this assisted approach and answer questions.

Replay: Aeolus reentry media briefing

After completing its mission in orbit, ESA’s wind mission Aeolus will soon reenter Earth's atmosphere. Currently orbiting 320 km above, Aeolus is being kept in orbit with its remaining fuel. This fuel is running out, and the satellite will soon succumb to Earth’s atmosphere and gravity.  

Going above and beyond what the satellite was technically designed to do, ESA is attempting a first-of-its-kind assisted reentry to reduce the (already very small) risk of damage from any fragments that survive the journey and reach the ground.

ESA held an online media briefing on 19 July 2023 to explain more about this assisted approach and answer questions.

Simulating Aeolus’s return: mission control feels the heat

New strategy to keep pace with our changing world

Fuelled largely by climate change, our planet is being subjected to environmental changes that are having an unprecedented global impact on humans, animals and plants. Shockingly, in certain locations these changes are occurring at a rate never before witnessed.

To keep pace with the challenges we face, ESA is embarking on a new Earth observation science strategy – and has reached out to the scientific community at this early stage in the process to help guide the Agency’s scientific agenda for the coming years.

The sound of Aeolus will blow you away

After almost five years, ESA’s Aeolus wind satellite has completed its mission. Now, you can listen to the Life of Aeolus – an incredible wind orchestral piece that has been composed using data spanning Aeolus’ entire life in orbit around Earth.

Earth from Space: Ethiopian painting

Europe braces for sweltering July

Temperatures are sizzling across Europe this week amid an intense and prolonged period of heat. And it’s only just begun. Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heatwave with air temperatures expected to climb to 48°C on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe.

Europe braces for sweltering July

Temperatures are sizzling across Europe this week amid an intense and prolonged period of heat. And it’s only just begun. Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heatwave with temperatures expected to climb to 48°C on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe.

Europe braces for sweltering July

Temperatures are sizzling across Europe this week amid an intense and prolonged period of heat. And it’s only just begun. Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heatwave with temperatures expected to climb to 48°C on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe.

Guiding Aeolus' safe reentry

After exceeding its planned life in orbit, ESA’s Aeolus wind satellite is on its way back to Earth. The satellite is currently falling around 1 km a day, and its descent is accelerating. ESA’s spacecraft operators will soon intervene and attempt to guide Aeolus in a first-of-its-kind assisted reentry. Why is ESA doing this?

Earth from Space: Cyclone Mocha

First data from Europe’s Lightning Imager

Discover the first results from Europe’s first Lightning Imager onboard the Meteosat Third Generation. The Lightning Imager can continuously detect rapid flashes of lighting in Earth’s atmosphere whether day or night from a distance of 36 000 km.

This is the first time a geostationary weather satellite has the capability to detect lightning across Europe, Africa and the surrounding waters. Each camera can capture up to 1000 images per second and will continuously observe lightning activity from space. The data will give weather forecasters greater confidence in their predictions of severe storms.

More information on the Lightning Imager first data. 

Access all the MTG Lighning Imager animations.

European satellite strikes lightning

The first ever satellite instrument capable of continuously detecting lightning across Europe and Africa has now been switched on. New animations from the innovative ‘Lighting Imager’ confirm the instrument will revolutionise the detection and prediction of severe storms.

Watch live: First data from Europe’s first lightning detector

Watch live: First data from Europe’s first Lightning Imager

Tune in at 14:00 CEST for the first results from MTG’s lightning detector

Space to empower rural food producers

ESA has strengthened their partnership with the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to help vulnerable small-scale food producers not only increase their ability to grow food but adapt to climate change by using state-of-the-art Earth observation data.

Earth from Space: Southwest Netherlands

Earth from Space: Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Paris Air Show Live – Session on understanding Earth’s water and carbon cycles from space

By using concrete examples of the water and carbon cycles, the speakers in this session focus on the grand science questions and how we can turn them into answers and solutions most useful to decision-makers at the front line of the climate crisis. Earth is a highly dynamic system where the transport and exchanges of energy and matter are influenced by a multitude of processes and feedback mechanisms. Untangling these complex processes to better understand how Earth works as a system is a major challenge; a challenge that satellites, with their global view, are ideally positioned to tackle. While each mission gives us unique insights, it is by combining their data that makes scientific findings shine the brightest. This, in turn, puts European and international collaboration at the heart of Earth observation today.

Access all the videos from Paris Air Show 2023.

Paris Air Show live - From Earth science to climate action

Paris Air Show live: From Earth science to climate action

22 June at 12:00 CEST: Earth's water and carbon cycles from space

UK suffers marine heatwave

New Space companies join Copernicus

With commercial companies playing an increasingly important role in creating a dynamic and innovative space industry, nine New Space satellite data suppliers have joined the Copernicus programme as ‘Contributing Missions’. Today, at the Le Bourget Paris Air Show, ESA and the European Commission further embraced the era of New Space by welcoming these nine companies into the fold and celebrating the contribution they will make in monitoring our changing world.

Earth from Space: Eastern Mediterranean

Carbon monoxide from fires in Canada

Forecasting fires with SMOS

As the current wildfires in Canada show, climate change is increasing the risk and extent of wildfires across the globe. ESA, along with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts have taken a new approach by using realtime observations from ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite mission to better anticipate the outbreak of fires.

Earth from Space: Cook Strait, New Zealand

25 years of Copernicus

25 years ago, Copernicus set out to transform the way we see our planet. It is the largest environmental monitoring programme in the world. Learn more about the Copernicus programme and the Sentinel satellite missions developed by ESA.

25 years of Copernicus

25 years ago, Copernicus set out to transform the way we see our planet. It is the largest environmental monitoring programme in the world. Learn more about the Copernicus programme and the Sentinel satellite missions developed by ESA.

25 times Copernicus made the headlines

Twenty-five years ago, Copernicus set out to transform the way we see our planet. Now, well established as the largest environmental monitoring programme in the world, it returns a whopping 16 terabytes of high-quality data every single day. To mark a quarter-century of European success in space, we look back at a selection of 25 Copernicus highlights.

Earth from Space: Anchorage, Alaska

CubeMAP mission development halted

After very careful consideration, ESA’s Earth Observation Programme Board has taken the decision to terminate the development of CubeMAP as a Scout satellite mission. This decision is based on the development path exceeding the programmatic constraints related to the timeline and budgetary boundaries allocated for this category of New Space mission.

Accelerating the Green Transition

Earth observation has been essential in identifying and monitoring climate change. Satellite data form the baseline for effective European mitigation and adaptation strategies to support the Green Transition, the European Union to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, as well as its Green Deal.

ESA has now concluded its initial phase of a pilot initiative in Austria that demonstrates the untapped potential of space technologies by providing actionable Earth observation information to accelerate the Green Transition for both society and the economy.

Accelerating the Green Transition

Earth observation has been essential in identifying and monitoring climate change. Satellite data form the baseline for effective European mitigation and adaptation strategies to support the Green Transition, the European Union's Green Deal and the global goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

ESA has now concluded its initial phase of a pilot initiative in Austria that demonstrates the untapped potential of space technologies by providing actionable Earth observation information to accelerate the Green Transition for both society and the economy.

Register for ESA’s first Earth observation commercialisation event

Registration is now open for ESA’s first-ever Earth Observation Commercialisation Forum. Taking place at ESA Headquarters in Paris from 30 to 31 October 2023, investors, institutions, entrepreneurs and companies of any size from the Earth observation sector will now be able to come together and discuss the commercial potential and challenges of Earth observation, together with the technical, industrial and risk-capital support available to European companies.

Aeolus enhances volcanic ash forecasts for aviation safety

Aeolus enhances volcanic ash forecasts for aviation safety

Earth from Space: São Paulo, Brazil

An improved view of global sea ice

Earth’s declining ice is without a doubt one of the clearest signs of climate change. A new high-resolution sea-ice concentration data record has just been released as part of ESA’s Climate Change Initiative – providing new insights of sea ice concentration across the globe.

Fighting wildfires in France | FIRE Preview

Enjoy a sneak peek of ESA’s new documentary that looks at fire in all its fury - and how satellite technology is helping to mitigate this consequence of climate change. Join us on this journey as we meet the firefighter who fought one of the largest wildfires in his career, climate scientists working with satellite data, and the people on the frontline using these data to aid those affected. The full documentary will be released this summer.

Fighting wildfires in France | FIRE Preview

Enjoy a sneak peek of ESA’s new documentary that looks at fire in all its fury - and how satellite technology is helping to mitigate this consequence of climate change. Join us on this journey as we meet the firefighter who fought one of the largest wildfires in his career, climate scientists working with satellite data, and the people on the frontline using these data to aid those affected. The full documentary will be released this summer.

Access the related broadcast quality video material.

Fighting wildfires in France from space | FIRE Preview

Enjoy a sneak peek of ESA’s new documentary that looks at fire in all its fury - and how satellite technology is helping to mitigate this consequence of climate change. Join us on this journey as we meet the firefighter who fought one of the largest wildfires in his career, climate scientists working with satellite data, and the people on the frontline using these data to aid those affected. The full documentary will be released this summer.

Access the related broadcast quality video material.

Fighting wildfires in France | FIRE Preview

Enjoy a sneak peek of ESA’s new documentary that looks at fire in all its fury - and how satellite technology is helping to mitigate this consequence of climate change. Join us on this journey as we meet the firefighter who fought one of the largest wildfires in his career, climate scientists working with satellite data, and the people on the frontline using these data to aid those affected. The full documentary will be released this summer.

Satellites provide crucial insights into Arctic amplification

The Arctic, once again at the forefront of climate change, is experiencing disproportionately higher temperature increases compared to the rest of the planet, triggering a series of cascading effects known as Arctic amplification. As concerns continue to grow, satellites developed by ESA have become indispensable tools in understanding and addressing the complex dynamics at play and the far-reaching consequences for the environment and human societies.

Satellites provide crucial insights into Arctic amplification

The Arctic, once again at the forefront of climate change, is experiencing disproportionately higher temperature increases compared to the rest of the planet, triggering a series of cascading effects known as Arctic amplification.

As concerns continue to grow, satellites developed by ESA have become indispensable tools in understanding and addressing the complex dynamics at play and the far-reaching consequences for the environment and human societies.

ESA receives Space for Climate Protection Award

ESA has been presented the ‘Space for Climate Protection’ Special Award by the International Astronautical Federation during the Global Space Conference on Climate Change – currently taking place in Oslo, Norway.

Annual global ice loss simulated over Oslo

Satellites play a vital role in monitoring the rapid changes taking place in the Arctic. Tracking ice lost from the world’s glaciers, ice sheets and frozen land shows that Earth is losing ice at an accelerating rate.

Using information from ESA’s ERS, Envisat and CryoSat satellites as well as the Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 missions, research led by Tom Slater of the University of Leeds, found that the rate at which Earth has lost ice has increased markedly within the past three decades. Currently, more than a trillion tonnes of ice is lost each year.

To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to an ice cube measuring 10x10x10 km over Oslo’s skyline. Putting it another way, the amount of ice loss globally is equivalent to 12 000 times the annual water use of the Norwegian capital.

The sooner Earth’s temperature is stabilised, the more manageable the impacts of ice loss will be.

Continuity in satellite data is the key to predicting future ice losses, and to assist in mitigating the threats posed by sea-level rise, shrinking high mountain glaciers and further climate feedbacks. The Copernicus Expansion missions, CRISTAL, CIMR and ROSE-L have been designed to fill the gaps in current Sentinel capabilities for comprehensive monitoring of changes in the global ice cover.

Watch now: Global Space Conference on Climate Change

Watch now: Global Space Conference on Climate Change

Watch live: Global Space Conference on Climate Change

Earth from Space: Oslo, Norway

Our oceans are in hot water

Adding to the grim list of record ice losses, record air temperatures and record droughts, which have all hit the headlines recently, the temperature of the surface waters of our oceans is also at an all-time high. With an El Niño looming, concerns are that we will soon be facing even worse extremes. Satellites orbiting overhead are being used to carefully track the patterns that lead up to El Niño to further understand and predict the consequences of this cyclic phenomenon against the backdrop of climate change.

Our oceans are in hot water

Adding to the grim list of record ice losses, record air temperatures and record droughts, which have all hit the headlines recently, the temperature of the surface waters of our oceans is also at an all-time high. With an El Niño looming, concerns are that we will soon be facing even worse extremes. Satellites orbiting overhead are being used to carefully track the patterns that lead up to El Niño to further understand and predict the consequences of this cyclic phenomenon against the backdrop of climate change.

Earth from Space: Nishinoshima island, Japan

Monitoring fluctuating forest carbon from space

Monitoring fluctuating forest carbon from space

Aeolus’ fiery demise to set standard for safe reentry

ESA’s wind mission, Aeolus, will soon be lowered in orbit leading to its fiery reentry and burn-up through Earth’s atmosphere. ESA’s efforts to ensure a safe return go well beyond international standards and place the Agency in the lead for space safety.

Earth from Space: Farming the desert

Meteosat Third Generation's first stunning image

Europe’s latest weather satellite, the Meteosat Third Generation Imager, has just delivered its first image of Earth. What does this satellite do exactly? And what does this mean for weather forecasting? Learn more about the Meteosat Third Generation and how this new generation of satellites is set to revolutionise weather forecasting in Europe.

The Meteosat Third Generation image can be downloaded here.

New weather satellite reveals spectacular images of Earth

Europe’s latest weather satellite, the Meteosat Third Generation Imager, has just delivered its first view of Earth – revealing conditions over Europe, Africa and the Atlantic in remarkable detail.   

Earth from Space: Blooming California

CryoSat reveals ice loss from glaciers

When one thinks of the damage that climate change is doing, it’s probable that what comes to mind is a vision of huge lumps of ice dropping off one of the polar ice sheets and crashing into the ocean. While Greenland and Antarctica are losing masses of ice, so too are most of the glaciers around the world, but it’s tricky to measure how much ice they are shedding.

Thanks to ESA’s CryoSat satellite and a breakthrough way of using its data, scientists have discovered that glaciers worldwide have shrunk by a total of 2% in just 10 years, and it’s because of higher air temperatures.

The future of gravity is MAGIC

The latest European State of the Climate report states that, last year, Europe suffered its hottest summer on record. The heat and a persistent lack of rain caused drought which, at its peak, affected much of the continent. This not only illustrates the reality of climate change, but also how precarious our supply of freshwater can be, even in western Europe where the climate is relatively moderate.

By delivering frequent and accurate gravity measurements, a new space mission called MAGIC, a cooperation between ESA and NASA, will help make the important task of managing our precious water supplies more efficient.

Earth from Space: Rome, Italy

Introducing World Cereal

Global food security is a major challenge in the face of population growth and climate change. One of the first steps in achieving food security for all is to know which crops are growing where and how – each season. Launching today, ESA’s WorldCereal is the world’s first dynamic system capable of providing seasonally updated crop information to help monitor agricultural production across the globe.

Ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica hits new record

A report, released today, states that ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica has increased fivefold since the 1990s, and now accounts for a quarter of sea-level rise.

Ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica hits new record

A report, publishing today, states that ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica has increased fivefold since the 1990s, and now accounts for a quarter of sea-level rise.

How much water do we use for irrigation?

While we know that we use more water for irrigation than for any other single purpose, watering practices are not monitored worldwide. Water needed for agriculture is expected to further increase as time goes on, so managing this precious resource as effectively as possible is imperative. Scientists have now shown that a nifty way of using information from satellites could pave to way to measuring how much water we use to irrigate, which could subsequently lead to better management.

How much water do we use for irrigation?

While we know that we use more water for irrigation than for any other single purpose, watering practices are not monitored worldwide. Water needed for agriculture is expected to further increase as time goes on, so managing this precious resource as effectively as possible is imperative. Scientists have now shown that a nifty way of using information from satellites could pave the way to measuring how much water we use to irrigate, which could subsequently lead to better management.

10 remarkable Earth facts

Every year on 22 April, we’ve celebrated Earth Day and the beautiful planet we call home. Earth Day, established in 1970, has been used to highlight our planet’s environmental challenges and raise awareness of the importance of protecting our world for future generations. But shouldn’t every day be Earth Day? We only have one beautiful planet after all. We hope you enjoy this curated list of 10 of the most remarkable facts about Earth. 

Scroll to the end of the article to take part in ESA's Earth Day 2023 campaign.

10 remarkable Earth facts

Every year on 22 April, we’ve celebrated Earth Day and the beautiful planet we call home. Earth Day, established in 1970, has been used to highlight our planet’s environmental challenges and raise awareness of the importance of protecting our world for future generations. But shouldn’t every day be Earth Day? We only have one beautiful planet after all. We hope you enjoy this curated list of 10 of the most remarkable facts about Earth. 

Scroll to the end of the article to take part in ESA's Earth Day 2023 campaign.

10 remarkable Earth facts

Every year on 22 April, we’ve celebrated Earth Day and the beautiful planet we call home. Earth Day, established in 1970, has been used to highlight our planet’s environmental challenges and raise awareness of the importance of protecting our world for future generations. But shouldn’t every day be Earth Day? We only have one beautiful planet after all. We hope you enjoy this curated list of 10 of the most remarkable facts about Earth. 

Scroll to the end of the article to take part in ESA's 'You like, we plant' campaign.

Trailblazing Aeolus mission winding down

On 30 April 2023, all nominal operations of Aeolus, the first mission to observe Earth’s wind profiles on a global scale, will conclude in preparation for a series of end of life activities.

Trailblazing Aeolus mission winding down

On 30 April 2023, all nominal operations of Aeolus, the first mission to observe Earth’s wind profiles on a global scale, will conclude in preparation for a series of end-of-life activities.

13 volcanoes seen from space

Have you ever wondered what a volcano looks like from space? Today, we’re counting down our picks of the most impressive volcanoes around the world – captured by satellites. Our countdown includes Mount Fuji, Mount Mayon and Mount Vesuvius. Satellites orbiting 800 km above us can monitor volcanoes. They can provide real-time data on volcanic activity and can even help disaster response efforts post-eruption.

Smelly seaweed bloom heads to Florida

A large mass of Sargassum ‘seaweed’ circling around the Gulf of Mexico may soon wash up along the US west coast near Florida – depending on the right combination of currents and wind. The bloom, which may likely be the largest ever recorded, is so large that it’s visible from space.

Earth from Space: Seoul, South Korea

Revealing invisible Himalaya glacier loss

New research reveals that ice being lost from glaciers that flow into lakes in the Himalayas has been significantly underestimated. This discovery has critical implications for predicting the demise of the region’s glaciers and for managing critical water resources.

Untangling the ocean biological carbon pump

They may be microscopic, but their ability to sequester carbon is phenomenal. We are talking phytoplankton – and scientists working on a project funded by ESA are assessing different aspects of the role that these tiny plants play in the ocean carbon cycle to better understand climate processes.

EO Science Strategy workshop

EO Science Strategy workshop

19-20 June – Bruges, Belgium

EO Science Strategy workshop

Register for the EO Science Strategy workshop

19-20 June – Bruges, Belgium

EO Science Strategy workshop

Register for Earth Observation Science Strategy workshop

19-20 June – Bruges, Belgium

Runoff: not as you might think

Runoff and river discharge are important components in Earth’s water cycle, but as climate change tightens its grip, heatwaves and instances of drought are increasingly hitting the headlines. One would assume that this hotter weather leads to reduced water runoff, but an innovative way of using information from satellites suggests that this isn’t always the case.

Is Europe already drying up?

Europe has just endured its second warmest winter on record. Much of southern and western Europe has been affected by substantial anomalies of soil moisture owing to this exceptionally dry and warm winter. Data from ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission have been used to monitor the low levels of soil moisture across Europe.

Earth from Space: Pollino National Park, Italy

ESA–EGU 2023 Excellence Award winners

Honouring individual scientists and teams of scientists that have contributed to the innovative use of Earth observation data, ESA and the European Geosciences Union (EGU) are happy to announce the winners of this year’s prestigious Excellence Award.

Earth from Space: Monterrey, Mexico

Earth observation supports latest UN climate report

The final instalment of the sixth assessment report by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been released today. The report warns that the planet has already warmed 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels, resulting in more frequent and intense extreme weather events that are causing increasingly dangerous impacts on nature and people in every region of the world. 

The report includes a greater contribution of Earth observation data than its previous iterations in providing the physical evidence of Earth’s changing climate system – from sea-level rise, growing greenhouse-gas emissions and melting sea ice.

Earth from Space: Okavango Delta, Botswana

Recovering forests regain a quarter of carbon lost from deforestation

Clement Albergel on forests and the carbon cycle

Tropical forests are vital ecosystems in the fight against climate change. Yet vast areas of forest are still degraded or lost through deforestation and environmental changes. Clement Albergel, Climate Applications Scientist at ESA, explains how satellite observations can not only help us to monitor deforestation, but provide valuable information on secondary and degraded forests as well as how much carbon they accumulate.

Reforestation in Rio Capim, Amazon

A series of USGS Landsat and Copernicus Sentinel-2 images showing secondary forest regrowth near Rio Capim, in the Brazilian Amazon, from 1985 to 2022.

Carbon dioxide monitoring mission in development

The pressure is on to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we pump into the atmosphere – but the race is also on to support the monitoring that shows if targets are being met. Being developed by ESA on behalf of the EU, the new Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission, or CO2M for short, is destined to be Europe’s prime mission for monitoring and tracking carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. CO2M is currently planned as a two-satellite mission, each of which will carry a near-infrared and shortwave-infrared spectrometer to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide at high spatial resolution. Engineers at Thales SESO in France explain how the development of some of the mission’s precision measuring and optical components is going.

Earth from Space: Graham Coast, Antarctica

Using a data cube to monitor forest loss in the Amazon

HydroGNSS twice as good

ESA’s HydroGNSS mission will now comprise two identical satellites to halve the time it takes to revisit the same place on Earth’s surface and re-measure various climate variables such soil moisture. Having two satellites in orbit will significantly improve the science that this exciting new Scout mission will yield.

Earth from Space: Poyang Lake, China

Antarctic Peninsula glaciers on the run

Like many places, the Antarctic Peninsula is falling victim to rising temperatures. However, when scientists used radar images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission acquired between 2014 and 2021, they were taken aback to discover just how the fast 105 glaciers on the west coast are flowing in the summer months.

Earth from Space: The Triple Frontier

ESA’s forest satellite robust for launch

Over the last few months, ESA’s Earth Explorer Biomass satellite has been going through a punishing series of tests to make sure that it will survive the unavoidable blasts of noise and shuddering during liftoff. Engineers have now also tested that it will unfold its solar wing in the correct sequence. Coming through all of this with flying colours, Biomass is a few steps closer to its mission in orbit: to deliver completely new information on our precious forests and the carbon they store.

The ozone layer: a whole new world

In the 1980s, scientists discovered a gaping hole in Earth's ozone layer, caused by humanmade chemicals. But thanks to the historical Montreal Protocol, the world came together to take bold action to save our planet. Decades later, we can see the steady recovery of the ozone hole. How did we do it? And what does space have to do with it? Join us as we explore the journey of the ozone hole, from its alarming discovery to the incredible strides made to fix it, and how satellites are helping us track its recovery.

The ozone layer: a hole new world

In the 1980s, scientists discovered a gaping hole in Earth's ozone layer, caused by humanmade chemicals. But thanks to the historical Montreal Protocol, the world came together to take bold action to save our planet. Decades later, we can see the steady recovery of the ozone hole. How did we do it? And what does space have to do with it? Join us as we explore the journey of the ozone hole, from its alarming discovery to the incredible strides made to fix it, and how satellites are helping us track its recovery.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 helps explorers unearth rare 7.6 kg meteorite in Antarctica

Copernicus Sentinel-2 helps explorers unearth rare meteorite

Call opens for ESA’s twelfth Earth Explorer

Understanding Earth’s delicate natural balance and how it is being altered by human activity is not only key to advancing science but also fundamental to acting on environmental issues, the climate crisis, and preparing for their societal impact. With their hallmark of demonstrating novel space technologies and returning scientific excellence, ESA’s family of Earth observing Earth Explorer research satellite missions are world-renowned – and now it’s time for scientists to pitch their new ideas for the twelfth mission in this outstanding series.

Earth from Space: Liverpool Land, Greenland

Satellite data used for road infrastructure safety in Italy

A new ground motion service utilising Copernicus satellite data is being used by the Italian road agency to detect and monitor unstable ground – helping improve nationwide road infrastructure safety.