Here we see a rendered animation showing the Italian Earth observation satellite, Pathfinder Hawk, capturing its first image over the Italian peninsula.

Pathfinder Hawk is an exploratory satellite for the IRIDE programme. It was launched on 14 January 2025 and captured a high-resolution image over central Italy on 5 March 2025.

The image covered a thin strip of Italy, from the town of Fano on the Adriatic coast, over the central Apennine ridge and all the way to Rome and the coast of Lazio. It was taken by a multispectral optical instrument on board Pathfinder Hawk.

The IRIDE constellation of satellites are tailored to provide information for a wide range of environmental, emergency and security services for Italy.

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