The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicSentinel-2 is a multi-spectral optical imaging mission and part of the GMES space component. Sentinel-2 is a low-Earth-orbiting mission dedicated to the monitoring of land and coastal areas. It features a MultiSpectral Optical Instrument operating with 13 channels from Visible-Near Infrared to Short Wave Infrared, and is dedicated to the monitoring of vegetation coverage and biophysical properties, and for the mapping of urban areas. Sentinel-2 offers a 10m spatial resolution for key channels and will ensure the mission continuity and very significant improvement with respect to the existing medium-resolution land missions, e.g. SPOT-5 and Landsat. Sentinel-2 is envisaged as a two-satellite constellation, to meet the coverage requirements of the mission. Artistic drawing of Sentinel-2 in operation.