Copernicus Sentinel-2 Mission

News- The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured satellite images of Northern Italy during the February 2026 Winter Olympics.

About Copernicus Sentinel-2 Mission

• It is an Earth observation satellite mission that monitors land surface conditions using high-resolution imagery.
• It is part of Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth observation programme.
• Developed by: The mission has been developed by the European Space Agency for the European Union.
• Aim: The mission aims to monitor variability in land surface conditions and environmental health using optical multispectral data.
• Satellite Constellation
  • It comprises a land monitoring constellation of two polar-orbiting satellites placed in the same sun-synchronous orbit.
  • The twin satellites, S-2B and S-2C, provide a wide swath width of 290 kilometres and a high revisit time.
• Key Features 
  • The mission delivers high-resolution optical multispectral imagery across 13 spectral bands.
  • The data supports applications such as agriculture monitoring, disaster management, ecosystem observation, and water quality assessment.
  • It enables real-time observation of environmental changes across large land areas.

About Copernicus Programme Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space Programme. It is managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with agencies such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and others. The programme is named after Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543). Its objective is to provide accurate and timely data for environmental management, climate change monitoring, civil security, and policy-making