An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, cartography and others. The most common type are Earth imaging satellites, that take satellite images, analogous to aerial photographs; some EO satellites may perform remote sensing without forming pictures, such as in GNSS radio occultation.
SCISAT-1 is a Canadian satellite designed to make observations of the Earth's atmosphere. Its main instruments are an optical Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, the ACE-FTS Instrument, and an ultraviolet spectrophotometer, MAESTRO. These devices record spectra of the Sun, as sunlight passes through the Earth's atmosphere, making analyses of the chemical elements of the atmosphere possible.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was a NASA-operated orbital observatory whose mission was to study the Earth's atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer. The 5,900-kilogram (13,000 lb) satellite was deployed from Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-48 mission on 15 September 1991. It entered Earth orbit at an operational altitude of 600 kilometers (370 mi), with an orbital inclination of 57 degrees.
Venus Express (VEX) was the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency (ESA). Launched in November 2005, it arrived at Venus in April 2006 and began continuously sending back science data from its polar orbit around Venus. Equipped with seven scientific instruments, the main objective of the mission was the long term observation of the Venusian atmosphere. The observation over such long periods of time had never been done in previous missions to Venus, and was key to a better understanding of the atmospheric dynamics. ESA concluded the mission in December 2014.
European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS) was the European Space Agency's first Earth-observing satellite programme using a polar orbit. It consisted of two satellites, ERS-1 and ERS-2, with ERS-1 being launched in 1991.
Satellite images are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell images by licensing them to governments and businesses such as Apple Maps and Google Maps.
Space-based radar or spaceborne radar is a radar operating in outer space; orbiting radar is a radar in orbit and Earth orbiting radar is a radar in geocentric orbit. A number of Earth-observing satellites, such as RADARSAT, have employed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to obtain terrain and land-cover information about the Earth.
Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars (GOMOS), is an instrument on board the European satellite Envisat launched 1 March 2002. It is the first space instrument dedicated to the study of the atmosphere of the Earth by the technique of stellar occultation. The spectrum of stars in the ultraviolet, visible and the near infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum is observed. It is aimed to use GOMOS to build a climatology of ozone and related species in the middle atmosphere.
MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) was one of the main instruments on board the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Envisat platform. The sensor was in orbit from 2002 to 2012. ESA formally announced the end of Envisat's mission on 9 May 2012.
SCIAMACHY was one of ten instruments aboard of ESA's ENVIronmental SATellite, ENVISAT. It was a satellite spectrometer designed to measure sunlight, transmitted, reflected and scattered by the Earth's atmosphere or surface in the ultraviolet, visible and near infrared wavelength region at moderate spectral resolution. SCIAMACHY was built by Netherlands and Germany at TNO/TPD, SRON and Dutch Space.
Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union Space Programme, managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with the EU 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), the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), Frontex, SatCen and Mercator Océan.
Metop is a series of three polar-orbiting meteorological satellites developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and operated by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). The satellites form the space segment component of the overall EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS), which in turn is the European half of the EUMETSAT / NOAA Initial Joint Polar System (IJPS). The satellites carry a payload comprising 11 scientific instruments and two which support Cospas-Sarsat Search and Rescue services. In order to provide data continuity between Metop and NOAA Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES), several instruments are carried on both fleets of satellites.
The ozone monitoring instrument (OMI) is a nadir-viewing visual and ultraviolet spectrometer aboard the NASA Aura spacecraft. Aura flies in formation about 15 minutes behind Aqua, both of which orbit the Earth in a polar Sun-synchronous pattern. Aura was launched on July 15, 2004, and OMI has collected data since August 9, 2004. OMI can distinguish between aerosol types, such as smoke, dust, and sulfates, and can measure cloud pressure and coverage, which provide data to derive tropospheric ozone. OMI follows in the heritage of TOMS, SBUV, GOME, SCIAMACHY, and GOMOS. OMI measurements cover a spectral region of 264–504 nm (nanometers) with a spectral resolution between 0.42 nm and 0.63 nm and a nominal ground footprint of 13 × 24 km2 at nadir. The Aura satellite orbits at an altitude of 705 km in a sun-synchronous polar orbit with an exact 16-day repeat cycle and with a local equator crossing time of 13. 45 on the ascending node. The orbital inclination is 98.1 degrees, providing latitudinal coverage from 82° N to 82° S. It is a wide-field-imaging spectrometer with a 114° across-track viewing angle range that provides a 2600 km wide swath, enabling measurements with a daily global coverage. OMI is continuing the TOMS record for total ozone and other atmospheric parameters related to ozone chemistry and climate.
Sentinel-3 is an Earth observation heavy satellite series developed by the European Space Agency as part of the Copernicus Programme. As of 2024, it consists of 2 satellites: Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B. After initial commissioning, each satellite was handed over to EUMETSAT for the routine operations phase of the mission. Two recurrent satellites, Sentinel-3C and Sentinel-3D, will follow in approximately 2025 and 2028 respectively to ensure continuity of the Sentinel-3 mission.
EarthCARE, nicknamed Hakuryū, is a joint European/Japanese satellite, the sixth of ESA's Earth Explorer Programme. The main goal of the mission is the observation and characterization of clouds and aerosols as well as measuring the reflected solar radiation and the infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface and atmosphere.
ADEOS I was an Earth observation satellite launched by NASDA in 1996. The mission's Japanese name, Midori means "green". The mission ended in July 1997 after the satellite sustained structural damage to the solar panel. Its successor, ADEOS II, was launched in 2002. Like the first mission, it ended after less than a year, also following solar panel malfunctions.
GEOMS – Generic Earth Observation Metadata Standard is a metadata standard used for archiving data from groundbased networks, like the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), and for using this kind of data for the validation of NASA and ESA satellite data.
The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, previously known as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) and NPP-Bridge, is a weather satellite operated by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was launched in 2011 and is currently in operation.
Sentinel-5 Precursor (Sentinel-5P) is an Earth observation satellite developed by ESA as part of the Copernicus Programme to close the gap in continuity of observations between Envisat and Sentinel-5. It was launched in October 2017, and has a design life of 7 years. The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (Tropomi) provides the most detailed methane emissions monitoring available.
Sentinel-4 is a European Earth observation mission under development to support the European Union Copernicus Programme. It will focus on monitoring of trace gas concentrations and aerosols in the atmosphere to support operational services covering air-quality near-real time applications, air-quality protocol monitoring, and climate protocol monitoring. The specific objective of Sentinel-4 is to support this with a high revisit time over Europe.
