Context
Copernicus is the Earth Observation component of the European Union's Space Programme, designed to monitor our planet and its environment for the benefit of all European citizens.
Named after the renowned European scientist Nicolaus Copernicus, whose heliocentric theory revolutionized modern science, the programme aims to establish a global, continuous, autonomous, and high-quality Earth observation capacity. While European-driven, Copernicus delivers global Earth observation data and provides both near-real-time monitoring and long-term historical records.
The Copernicus Programme is managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with the Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), EU Agencies, and Mercator Ocean International.
This distributed partnership approach has proven to be a key factor in the programme's success.
Programme objectives
Copernicus provides accurate, timely and easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change, and ensure civil security.
The programme supports policies and applications in the areas of:
Climate change and the environment
Maritime security
Agriculture
Disaster management
Urban planning and infrastructure
Copernicus helps civil authorities save lives in emergency situations such as earthquakes, forest fires, or floods.
Data sources
Copernicus collects data from two main sources to provide comprehensive Earth observation capabilities.
Space component
The Sentinel satellite family, developed specifically by ESA to meet Copernicus operational needs, forms the core of the space component.
Currently, three complete multiple satellite constellations are in orbit (Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3), complemented by additional dedicated missions such as Sentinel-5P for atmospheric monitoring and Sentinel-6 for high-precision ocean altimetry.
These satellites provide:
Sentinel-1: All-weather, day-and-night radar imagery
Sentinel-2: High-resolution optical imagery for land services
Sentinel-3: Data for ocean and land services
Sentinel-5P: Atmospheric composition monitoring (air quality and trace gases)
Sentinel-6: High-precision altimetry for sea level and ocean monitoring
Contributing missions from other national and commercial space agencies complement the Sentinel data.
In situ data
The programme also utilizes data from ground-based, airborne, and maritime measurement systems, which help validate and complement satellite observations.
The six Copernicus services
The collected data is transformed into value-added information through six thematic services:
Atmosphere Service: Monitoring air quality and atmospheric composition
Marine Service: Ocean and coastal zone observation
Land Service: Land surface and land use monitoring
Climate Change Service: Climate indicators and projections
Emergency Management Service: Support for natural disasters and humanitarian crises
Security Service: Support for European security policies
Open data policy
One of Copernicus' fundamental principles is that all data and information produced under the programme are made available free of charge and openly to all users and the general public, with limited restrictions for certain security-related products.
This full, free and open access policy enables the development of downstream services and promotes innovation.
Accessing Copernicus data via WEkEO
WEkEO is one of the five Copernicus Data and Information Access Services (DIAS) co-funded by the European Commission to provide centralized access to Copernicus data and information, along with cloud-based processing tools.
The WEKEO platform enables:
Access to the complete Copernicus data catalogue
Download of Sentinel and contributing mission data
Use of cloud-based processing and analysis tools
Visualization and exploitation of Copernicus service products
All the infrastructures and data provided on WEkEO are not duplicated but linked, reducing costs for the European taxpayer and avoiding the need for new energy-consuming infrastructures. Thus, users can directly access and work with the most up-to-date Copernicus data instead of relying on archive data sets.
What's next?
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