Protecting our planet: much-needed data from space

Today marks 5 years in orbit for one of the many Airbus satellites which are monitoring and protecting our planet. Sentinel-2A is among the 20+ satellites using Airbus technology, which are delivering vital data on a daily basis to support decision makers in helping protect our planet.

Europe’s eyes in space

Sentinel-2A and its twin, 2B – launched two years later – form part of Europe’s Copernicus environment programme.

Together, these optical satellites give us fresh views of the Earth’s entire land surface every five days. Their data is used to create maps following natural disasters so that NGO workers can provide humanitarian aid as fast and effectively as possible. They help identify pollution in our lakes and coastal waters and protect against depletion of the world’s diminishing forests, showing changes week on week. Their images are used to determine plant indices like leaf area chlorophyll and water content indexes, which are important indicators for farmers to predict their crop yields.

Sentinel-2 data forms the heart of the Copernicus programme, with over 60% of all Copernicus downloads today coming from this mission. Indeed, continuity of such valuable data delivery is essential, which is why the European Space Agency (ESA) entrusted Airbus with producing the Sentinel-2C and 2D follow-on satellites. Currently in production in our satellite cleanrooms in southern Germany, they will take over from the first two flight units later this decade.

? European Space Agency

Sentinel-5P is another key Copernicus mission, tasked with pollution monitoring, that has shown us the stark drop in emissions during covid lockdown. Faced with this evidence, it is to be hoped that this will set the course towards clean energy transitions.

?A multitude of satellites

Airbus, through its fleet of optical and radar satellites, also supports Copernicus as the leading data supplier.

This data – most of which is received less than 2 hours after sensing – is used to monitor urban sprawl over more than 300 European cities, support emergency and security services via a 24/7 on-call service, map wetland areas around European rivers and protect Natura2000 sites, the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world.

Europe also has many other satellites beyond Copernicus which are helping piece together the big picture of how climate change is affecting the globe. From Aeolus with its space lidar instrument, the first ever satellite to measure wind profiles, to CryoSat that has been gathering snow and ice data for the past decade, as well as EarthCARE that will improve understanding of the world’s energy budget and Biomass that will measure the world’s forests.

One goal

I am someone who believes passionately that we all have to do our bit to combat climate change and that every little helps to add up to a global impact. But beyond individual actions, it is clear that satellites are an unequivocal part of the picture and I am proud that Airbus is able to use its expertise in this way. Satellites are also inherent in Airbus’ purpose of pioneering sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world – and our climate missions are the embodiment of this purpose.

Our planet matters, #SpaceMatters.