ESA title

The mission

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites in the same orbit. Each satellite carries an innovative wide swath high-resolution multispectral imager with 13 spectral bands for a new perspective of our land and vegetation.

The launch

Date: Sentinel-2A - 23 June 2015
          Sentinel-2B - 7 March 2017
          Sentinel-2C - 5 September 2024
Site: Kourou, French Guiana
Launcher: Vega rocket

Sentinel-2
Tessera offers high-accuracy datasets that encode what the satellite ‘sees’ of Earth’s surface
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Tessera AI model offers accessible way to view Earth

04/06/2026 7248 views 58 likes
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Desert locust
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Turning data from space into action for Earth

22/04/2026 2737 views 33 likes
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Gas flares in Qatar imaged by Sentinel-2A
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Sentinel-2 explores night vision

15/01/2026 12161 views 126 likes
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Iberian fires August 2025
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Iberian wildfires seen from space

20/08/2025 13953 views 67 likes
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Harder Glacier, northern Greenland
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Greenland subglacial flood bursts through ice sheet surface

30/07/2025 7616 views 43 likes
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Fire driving deforestation
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Satellite records expose fire driving Gran Chaco transforma…

26/06/2025 3189 views 37 likes
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Baltic blooms
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Celebrating 10 years of Sentinel-2

23/06/2025 759 views 3 likes
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Nord Stream pipe lines
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Nord Stream methane leak far bigger than estimated

05/03/2025 7910 views 48 likes
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The colours of autumn across the western border of North Macedonia and Greece are captured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image from 27 October 2024.
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Earth from Space: Autumn foliage across Europe

08/11/2024 6653 views 57 likes
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Intertidal seagrass Cadiz Lagoon
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Sentinel-2 unveils the seasonal rhythm of intertidal seagra…

03/10/2024 4942 views 44 likes
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Long, thin snow dunes
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Unveiling the hidden snow dunes shaping Antarctica's frozen…

01/10/2024 3597 views 29 likes
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Seville from Copernicus Sentinel-2C
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Sentinel-2C delivers stunning first images

17/09/2024 31879 views 148 likes
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Sentinel-2C model in ESOC's Main Control Room
Enabling & Support

A smooth start to life in orbit for Sentinel-2C

10/09/2024 2628 views 40 likes
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Sentinel-2C takes to the skies
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Sentinel-2C joins the Copernicus family in orbit

05/09/2024 14731 views 84 likes
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Mission control GO for Sentinel-2C launch
Enabling & Support

Sentinel-2C operators complete final rehearsals

03/09/2024 2982 views 34 likes
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Sentinel-2C being encapsulated in the Vega fairing
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Sentinel-2C sealed in the Vega rocket fairing

23/08/2024 3329 views 40 likes
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Nitrogen dioxide plumes over Saudi Arabia
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Detecting nitrogen dioxide from power plants with Sentinel-2

05/08/2024 4587 views 35 likes
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Sentinel-2C arrives in Kourou
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Sentinel-2C arrives in French Guiana

22/07/2024 4376 views 45 likes
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Mediterranean marine litter mapped by satellite
Enabling & Support

Monitoring marine litter from space is now a reality

19/06/2024 23186 views 47 likes
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Barcelona captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2
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From space to soil

24/04/2024 3422 views 39 likes
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Soybean
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Measuring nutrition in crops from space

10/10/2023 9541 views 87 likes
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Sentinel-5P detected methane plumes
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Trio of Sentinel satellites map methane super-emitters

20/09/2023 40558 views 155 likes
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Smoke plume from the Litli-Hrútur volcano
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Litli-Hrútur eruption seen from space

26/07/2023 16987 views 74 likes
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Faenza flood map
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Satellites map aftermath of Emilia-Romagna floods

20/07/2023 13936 views 88 likes
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Al Wahat al Dakhla Desert, Egypt
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Introducing World Cereal

20/04/2023 8435 views 91 likes
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10 remarkable Earth facts

18/04/2023 617963 views 2817 likes
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Sargassum seaweed
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Smelly seaweed bloom heads to Florida

07/04/2023 19958 views 83 likes
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EO-WIDGET for CAP compliance
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Boosting market traction for agri-monitoring service

15/02/2023 2491 views 48 likes
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Osmaniye City, Türkiye, captured by Pléiades Neo
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Satellites support impact assessment after Türkiye–Syria ea…

13/02/2023 18362 views 125 likes
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Sentinel-2 captures Antarctica’s new iceberg
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Giant iceberg breaks away from Antarctic ice shelf

25/01/2023 44504 views 175 likes
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Nord Stream leak as captured by Pléiades Neo
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Satellites detect methane plume in Nord Stream leak

06/10/2022 19982 views 128 likes
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Great Salt Lake in July 2022
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Utah’s Great Salt Lake is disappearing

01/08/2022 36124 views 134 likes
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France and Spain land-surface temperature
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Feeling the heat from space

20/07/2022 14385 views 139 likes
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Zaap-C platform
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Methane emissions detected over offshore platform in the Gu…

09/06/2022 13664 views 115 likes
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Danube Delta
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Revealing coastline dynamics of the Danube Delta

24/05/2022 9832 views 74 likes
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Oil palm plantations distribution
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Tracking agricultural-related deforestation

05/05/2022 7979 views 77 likes
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Dwindling waters of Lake Powell
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Dwindling water levels of Lake Powell seen from space

11/04/2022 35820 views 117 likes
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Highlighting crops with Agriculture Sandbox NL
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Monitoring crop health across the Netherlands

08/02/2022 8302 views 115 likes
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Bangkok, Thailand
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Mapping our human footprint from space

11/11/2021 24166 views 90 likes
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Satellites pinpoint communities at risk of permafrost thaw

09/11/2021 5891 views 101 likes
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La Palma as captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2
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La Palma volcano: How satellites help us monitor eruptions

11/10/2021 29767 views 188 likes
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California fires
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California continues to burn

15/09/2021 9707 views 102 likes
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Sentinel-2C arrives at IABG for testing
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Gearing up for third Sentinel-2 satellite

09/08/2021 28345 views 76 likes
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Chamoli disaster from space
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Satellites reveal cause of Chamoli disaster

14/06/2021 8736 views 110 likes
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Peloponnese coastline changes
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Monitoring coastal changes in Greece

18/05/2021 10128 views 120 likes
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Glacier avalanches in the Sedongpu region, China
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Glacier avalanches more common than thought

30/04/2021 6476 views 123 likes
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Joining forces to address food security
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ESA and FAO unite to tackle food security and more

20/04/2021 7188 views 61 likes
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Sermersooq, Greenland
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Satellite imagery key to powering Google Earth

15/04/2021 26499 views 114 likes
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Mount Etna smoke plumes
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Satellites monitor Mount Etna’s unpredictable behaviour

08/04/2021 19223 views 102 likes
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Annual mean shoreline change: Start Bay, Devon
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Measuring shoreline retreat

29/03/2021 9855 views 152 likes
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