With thousands of emergency responders conducting search-and-rescue operations following the catastrophic flash flood that struck northern Nepal on 26 August, satellite imagery is helping to reveal the scale of the inundation and devastation across the affected region.

A foundation model trained on Earth observation data from Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 has been made widely available to researchers, it was announced at a computer industry conference this week in Denver, US.

Happy Earth Day, 22 April – a global call to act and protect our planet. At the European Space Agency, that action begins in orbit, where satellites deliver a continuous, global view of Earth and track environmental change. Working with partners, ESA turns this stream of data into actionable information through its FutureEO programme, helping governments and communities respond faster and more effectively to climate-driven risks.Here are two examples of how space technology is being used to anticipate threats to safeguard food security and public health.

After more than 10 years in orbit, the first Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, Sentinel-2A, is still finding new ways to contribute to Earth observation. With its younger siblings, Sentinel-2B and Sentinel-2C, now leading the mission’s core task of delivering high-resolution, ‘camera-like’ images of Earth’s surface, the European Space Agency is pushing Sentinel-2A beyond its original remit.In recent trials, this elderly satellite was even switched on at night to see how it would perform in the dark – and the results have been strikingly positive, offering encouraging news for the follow-on Copernicus Sentinel-2 Next Generation mission, currently in development.

This false-colour image, captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 on 11 April 2026, shows lakes in the Khovd Province in western Mongolia.

Thwaits Glacier, Antarctica

Sentinel-2 captures before and after Nepal flash flood

Nepal glacier collapse and flood – before and after

The Sentinels are a fleet of satellites designed specifically to deliver the wealth of data and imagery that are central to Copernicus ̶ the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space programme.

Launch: Sentinel-2A on 23 June 2015; Sentinel-2B on 7 March 2017; Sentinel-2C on 5 September 2024Launcher: Vega rocket from Kourou, French GuianaOrbit: Polar, Sun-synchronous at altitude of 786 kmRevisit time: ...

Ensuring that land is used sustainably, while meeting the food demands of a growing global population – a projected eight billion by 2020 – is one of today’s biggest challenges.

As well as providing detailed information about Earth’s vegetation, Sentinel-2 is designed to play a key role in mapping differences in land cover to understand the landscape, map how it is used and monitor changes over time.