ESA's Copernicus Programme
Climate change is the most impactful threat to humanity as a whole. Satellites are essential in gathering research data to understand how we impact the environment and respond to change.
The backbone of the ESA's Copernicus programme is a network of Earth observation satellites—called Sentinels. Almost every generation of Sentinels uses Teledyne Space Imaging sensors to capture images in different wavelengths:
- Sentinel 2: Four satellites each containing a MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) with 24 CMOS sensors.
- Sentinel 3: Four satellites each containing an Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) with five CCD sensors.
- Sentinel 3A and 3B also carry a Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) with an IR sensor.
- Sentinel 4: Two satellites each containing an Ultraviolet, Visible and Near-Infrared Sounding (UVN) with a CCD sensor. One satellite also contains the Ultraviolet-Visible Near Infrared (UVN) with a CCD sensor.
- Sentinel 5P: TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) with five CCD sensors.
- Sentinel 5: Ultraviolet Visible Near-infrared Shortwave (UVNS) with eight CCD sensors.
With the launch of Sentinel 2A in 2015, Copernicus owes its longstanding success to the collaborative work of Teledyne Space Imaging with organizations like ESA, and EUMETSAT. Though most of the Copernicus satellites have an operating lifespan of seven years, they have been provided with enough resources to last 14 years.
The process of learning about our Earth never stops. Our outstanding heritage in launching space-hardened instruments led to our selection for two Copernicus expansion missions: CO2M and CHIME.
Planned for launches starting in 2025, the three satellites of the Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring (CO2M) mission will carry a near-infrared and shortwave-infrared spectrometer to measure and map atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by human activity.
Launching in 2028 and 2030, the Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission (CHIME) will be equipped with a unique visible-to-shortwave infrared spectrometer that will collect data on land use and development.
In order to encourage climate research, data from Copernicus is provided freely to scientists all over the world. The use of that data powers technology and improvements in:
- Early warnings of severe weather to support evacuation plans and humanitarian aid
- Early detection of drought and desertification
- Air-quality forecasting
- Food security, and crop analysis
- Land-use change, and sustainable development
- Monitoring forests, fisheries, and sea-water quality
Teledyne Space Imaging sensors will also continue documenting climate change in the upcoming UK-led TRUTHS mission. TRUTHS will establish an International System of Units: a climate measurement standard. It will measure solar radiation to detect changes in Earth's climate and calibrate data from other programmes such as Copernicus.
