ESA's Earth Explorer missions

The Earth Explorer research missions are pivotal to FutureEO. Since the successful launch of the first Earth Explorer in 2009, these missions, without exception, continue to surpass expectations. These missions, which are proposed by the scientific community, continue to demonstrate how breakthrough technology can deliver an astounding range of scientific findings about our planet. They lead to the scientific excellence that is critical to addressing the challenges society faces today and is expected to face in the decades to come – from understanding different aspects in the climate system such as atmospheric dynamics and ice melt, to societal issues such as food security and freshwater resources. There are currently nine Earth Explorer missions.