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
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Developed for Europe's Copernicus programme, Sentinel-2 carries an optical payload with visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared sensors comprising 13 spectral bands: 4 bands at 10 m, 6 bands at 20 m and 3 bands at 60 m spatial resolution (the latter is dedicated to atmospheric corrections and cloud screening), with a swath width of 290 km.
Data from the mission will benefit services associated with land management, the agricultural industry and forestry, as well as disaster control and humanitarian relief operations. Imagery for the generation of high-level operational products, such as land-cover maps, land-change detection maps and geophysical variables that use, for example, leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content and leaf water content will be provided. Images of floods, volcanic eruptions and landslides will also be acquired by Sentinel-2. The mission is designed as a pair of identical satellites.