ESA Earth Observation

HydroGNSS data are now freely available to users worldwide. Following commissioning, ESA’s first Scout mission is now in full scientific operations, providing new observations of soil moisture, wetlands, flooding and vegetation to support water and climate research. The two-satellite mission uses GNSS reflectometry, analysing signals from navigation satellites such as GPS and Galileo after they bounce off Earth’s surface. These reflected signals can reveal information about water on and below the surface, including wetlands hidden beneath vegetation canopies, supporting research into Earth’s water cycle and climate change: https://lnkd.in/diBptSZZ Credits: Left image: ESA/IEEC/ICE-CSIC; Right image: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026)

New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta, seen by radar. This radar composite shows New Orleans and the final stretch of the Mississippi River, where it reaches the Gulf of Mexico through its vast 'bird-foot' delta. It combines three Copernicus Sentinel-1 acquisitions from February, April and June 2026: red shows February, green shows April and blue shows June. Where the colours stand out, they reveal changes between acquisitions, from vegetation growth and soil moisture to water conditions and moving ships. Built by sediment carried by the Mississippi over time, the wetlands of southern Louisiana support rich biodiversity, provide habitat for endangered species and help protect low-lying coastal areas from severe weather. Access the image: https://lnkd.in/dfrx7igj 📸contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA

Ready for another 'Where on Earth?' Look at the image in the comments and choose your answer🖱️

Not one, but two satellites will soon be on their way to orbit 🚀 On 15 September at 03:21 CEST/02:21 BST (14 September at 22:21 local time), ESA's FLEX mission and Copernicus Sentinel-3C will launch together from Europe's Spaceport aboard a Vega-C rocket. FLEX will provide the first global measurements of vegetation fluorescence, offering new insights into plant health and photosynthesis. Sentinel-3C will ensure the continuity of critical Earth observation data supporting ocean, land, atmosphere and climate services. Looking forward to this important milestone for Europe's Earth observation programme.

Venezuela’s June earthquakes moved the ground more than first estimated. Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar data indicate ground displacement of up to 65 cm around Caracas, La Guaira and Caraballeda, compared with preliminary estimates of around 30 cm released shortly after the earthquakes. The map was created using radar measurements acquired before and after the event, on 18 June and 24–25 June, showing how the ground shifted in the satellite’s line-of-sight. The map should be viewed as guidance rather than a validated map, as the satellite measurements were not compared with any ground measurements after the event. Read more🔗 https://lnkd.in/dtjMqjEe 📷 Copernicus Emergency Mapping Service data, processed by ESA

Wildfires in France and Spain seen from space🔥 These Copernicus Sentinel-2 images show burned areas west of Bordeaux in south-western France and around ESA's Cebreros groundstation, west of Madrid, during the recent wildfire outbreak. In France, the burned landscape is visible near Arcachon Bay, with infrared data highlighting areas still emitting heat. In Spain, Sentinel-2 shows areas affected by fires near Cebreros, where ESA’s deep-space ground station is located. A Copernicus Sentinel-5P Aerosol Index map, based on data acquired on 26 July, adds another perspective by highlighting elevated aerosol concentrations over parts of south-western Europe and the western Mediterranean. Our thoughts are with the communities affected. Access the images: https://lnkd.in/d4if8mWG 📷 contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA

Registration is open for the first Sentinel Users Preparation Coordination Workshop 2026.   The workshop will focus on the next generation of Copernicus Sentinel Expansion and Next Generation missions.   The programme will focus on: • Preparing the user community for the upcoming Sentinel missions and their data products. • Promoting the development of innovative scientific, operational, and commercial applications. • Facilitating collaboration across the Copernicus ecosystem to maximise the uptake and impact of future mission data. • Identifying user requirements and priorities to support the successful exploitation of the new missions.   📅 25–27 November 2026 📍 ESA-ESRIN, Frascati, Italy  Registration closes on 25 October 2026.   More information: https://lnkd.in/dcwBpfBC

Decades of research on forest carbon emissions have given us some data.   Compared to undisturbed forest: 🔥 Forest fires emit almost 50% more carbon 🪵 Selective logging releases 34% more carbon 💨 Tree loss at a forest’s edge, due to damage from wind and drier air, caused 31% more carbon loss Also, researchers found that partially damaged forests retain more carbon (75%) than forests that regrow from scratch (38%). That is due to the organic material that survives partial damage: seeds, soil and tree material. If a degraded forest is right next to a healthy forest, seeds can disperse more easily, making recovery more likely. Advances in Earth observation since 2015 have made it increasingly possible to distinguish carbon losses from degradation vs deforestation, and to track recovery over time. But more analysis is needed to ensure that tropical forest regeneration and degeneration are consistently reported in carbon cycle models and in national reporting. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dFN7wtrt 📷ESA (data sources: Copernicus Sentinel-2; Heinrich et al, 2026).

This week we're travelling over the land down under 🇦🇺   This false-colour Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows agricultural patchwork over the Goldfields–Esperance region in Western Australia.   The colours in this image are created by processing the image including Sentinel-2’s near-infrared channel, which highlights different types of vegetation ranging from brown to bright red, mostly concentrated on the lower-left part.   This feature is helpful when Sentinel-2 data are used in agricultural monitoring for mapping and classifying land use, crop type, crop health, change detection, irrigated landscape mapping and crop area mapping. Here the image at its full resolution 🔗 https://lnkd.in/daMnM-av 📷 contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA