ESA Earth Observation

Image: This image of the Venetian Lagoon in northern Italy was acquired by the IRIDE satellites on 17 May 2026.

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, acquired on 25 August 2026, shows an area of the Andean Altiplano in southern Bolivia near the border with Chile.

The European Space Agency has awarded two contracts, one to ICEYE and one to Leonardo, to carry out parallel architecture studies for the EU’s future Earth Observation Governmental Service (EOGS).These activities are funded by the European Commission and are integral part of Element 1 of ESA’s European Resilience from Space for Earth Observation (ERS-EO) programme – a new programme decided at the Ministerial Council in November 2025.

The longest satellite data record of ice-sheet change ever assembled has revealed that Greenland and Antarctica have lost a staggering 11 trillion tonnes of ice since the 1970s, driving global sea level up by more than three centimetres.However, the new findings also highlight that the story is not simply one of ice melting at the surface. The glaciers that drain these vast ice sheets are also flowing faster, channelling enormous quantities of ice directly into the ocean.

Video: 00:03:22 ESA’s state-of-the-art FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite have been launched together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, marking a new milestone in Europe’s Earth Observation Programmes. Flight VV30 lifted off on 15 September at 03:21 (14 September at 22:21 local time).  FLEX is designed to reveal a phenomenon invisible to the human eye: the faint fluorescence emitted by plants as they photosynthesise. Equi

Video: 03:37:00 Watch the full replay of the launch of ESA’s state-of-the-art FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite. Both were launched together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, marking a new milestone in Europe’s Earth Observation Programmes. Flight VV30 lifted off on 15 September at 03:21 (14 September at 22:21 local time).  FLEX is designed to reveal a phenomenon invisible to the human eye: the faint fluorescence emitted

The European Space Agency’s FLEX Earth Explorer satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite have been launched together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, marking a new milestone in Europe’s Earth Observation Programmes.

Video: 00:06:30 Plants may look still and silent, but every leaf is constantly responding to its environment.As plants photosynthesise, they emit an incredibly faint glow called fluorescence. Invisible to our eyes, this signal can reveal how plants are using sunlight and how they respond to heat, drought, pests and other environmental stresses.ESA’s Fluorescence Explorer, or FLEX, will detect this faint signal from space. Using its highly sensitive FLORIS instrument, FLEX will map plant

Two Earth observation satellites – ESA’s Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) satellite, and the third satellite for the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission – are encapsulated inside the nose cone of a Vega-C launcher and are awaiting liftoff at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The European Space Agency’s FLEX satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellite are scheduled to launch together aboard a Vega-C rocket on 15 September at 03:21 CEST (14 September at 22:21 local time). Watch the VV30 launch live from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, with coverage starting at 02:50 CEST.

Europe’s Meteosat Third Generation Imager 2 (MTG-I2) satellite has reached its designated orbit at 36 000 km from Earth and is ready to begin its commissioning phase, preparing it to provide years of service to improve weather forecasting over Europe and North Africa.

Image: Copernicus Sentinel-3 captured a plume from the eruption of Anak Krakatau on Saturday, 5 September.

Image: FLEX and Sentinel-3C being hoisted into the launch tower

Press Release N° 45–2026 Media representatives are invited to attend the launch re-watch event for the FLEX (Fluorescence Explorer) and Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellites at the European Space Operations Centre (ESA/ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, on Tuesday morning, 15 September 2026.

Video: 00:47:00 On 4 September 2026, media representatives joined an online briefing ahead of the launch of ESA’s FLEX and the Copernicus Sentinel-3C satellites.The two satellites are scheduled to launch together aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 15 September at 03:21 CEST (14 September at 22:21 local time).This video is a recording of the English briefing.FLEX is equipped with the Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer that will detect the faint fluorescence

Copernicus Sentinel-3 is one of the most diverse missions for measuring and monitoring Earth’s climate systems. It captures a breadth of data about the environment and has contributed substantially to what we know about climate change over the past decade. The launch of the mission’s third satellite heralds the continuity of this vital source of knowledge.

At Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, preparations for one of the year’s most anticipated Earth-observation launches are entering their final stages.FLEX and Copernicus Sentinel-3C have now been enclosed within the protective fairing of their Vega-C rocket, bringing the two satellites one step closer to their shared journey into space.

Video: 00:01:00 Using cutting-edge technology, ESA’s FLEX mission is designed to reveal new insights into how plants function by measuring the faint fluorescence they emit when they capture light during photosynthesis. Although invisible to the human eye, this signal changes with environmental conditions and plant health – allowing scientists to assess vegetation health, and stress. The FLEX satellite is equipped with the Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer (FLORIS), an instrument designed

With thousands of emergency responders conducting search-and-rescue operations following the catastrophic flash flood that struck northern Nepal on 26 August, satellite imagery is helping to reveal the scale of the inundation and devastation across the affected region.