MetOp Introduction RIGHT VERSION

MetOp will be Europe's first polar-orbiting satellite dedicated to operational meteorology. It represents the European contribution to a new cooperative venture with the United States providing data that will be used to monitor our climate and improve weather forecasting.

A new generation of European instruments that offer improved remote sensing capabilities to both meteorologists and climatologists will be carried with a set of 'heritage' instruments provided by the United States. The new European instruments will augment the accuracy of:

• temperature and humidity measurements
• wind speed and wind direction measurements, especially over the ocean
• profiles of ozone in the atmosphere

MetOp is a series of three satellites to be launched sequentially over 14 years, starting in 2006, and forms the space segment of EUMETSAT's Polar System (EPS).