Status of Current and Expansion Missions of the Copernicus Optical Imaging Family

The Copernicus EU program started in 1998 with the overarching aim to become Europe’s operational Earth Observation monitoring system providing data and information services. An essential part of the program is the Copernicus Space Component (CSC), which is managed by the European Space Agency (ESA) as responsible for the Copernicus Sentinels satellite constellations.

The presentation will include an overview of the CSC Optical Imaging Family (OIF) currently operated missions, namely Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3, and candidate potential missions being developed, namely Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for Environment (CHIME) and High Spatio-Temporal Resolution Land Surface Temperature Monitoring Mission (LSTM). The next generation missions are not included here.

Sentinel-2 is an Earth Observation mission developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) in the frame of the Copernicus program of the European Commission. The mission consists on a Multi-Spectral Instruments (MSI) on board a constellation of two satellites: Sentinel-2A launched in June 2015 and Sentinel-2B launched in March 2017. It covers the Earth’s land surfaces and coastal waters every five days under the same viewing conditions and every three days at mid-latitudes with high spatial resolution and a wide field of view.

5 day revisit (i.e. under same viewing conditions) is met at all latitudes of observations (not only at equator), and with the swath overlap and the S2 orbit repeat pattern (14+3/10 rev/day, i.e. a 3 day sub-cycle), 3 day geometric coverage is achieved at mid latitudes.

Sentinel-3 mission is measuring sea surface topography, sea and land surface temperature, and ocean and land surface colour with high accuracy and reliability to support ocean forecasting systems, environmental monitoring and climate monitoring. The Sentinel-3 mission is jointly operated by ESA and EUMETSAT to deliver operational ocean and land observation services.

CHIME, identified as one of the Copernicus Expansion High Priority Candidate Missions (HPCM), will provide routine observations through the Copernicus Programme for managing natural resources and assets in support of EU policy, and will complement currently flying multi-spectral missions such as Sentinel-2. Compared to multi-spectral missions, CHIME will have an increased number of narrow spectral bands (spectral resolution of 10nm with no gaps between bands) in the visible-to-shortwave infrared range (400-2500nm), which will allow for a more accurate determination of biochemical and biophysical variables.

LSTM, also identified as one of the HPCM, will provide enhanced measurements of land surface temperature with a focus responding to user requirements related to agricultural monitoring. High spatio-temporal resolution thermal infrared observations are considered fundamental to sustainable management natural resources in the context of water and food security of a global society. Operational land surface temperature (LST) measurements and derived evapotranspiration (ET) are key variables in understanding and responding to climate variability, managing water resources for agricultural production, predicting droughts but also addressing land degradation, natural hazards, coastal and inland water management as well as urban heat island issues.