The SwArm For Earthquake study (SAFE) is part of ESA's STSE (the Support To Science Element) Swarm+Innovation Program, a programmatic component of EOEP (Earth Observation Envelope Programme).

SAFE is a project to investigate, by means of data collected from satellites and ground-based instruments, the phase preceding large earthquakes with the aim of identifying any electromagnetic signals from space.

To achieve the project scope, SAFE will study the preparatory phase of large earthquakes through the analysis of electromagnetic data from sensors on board the three satellites of ESA Swarm constellation in order to better understand the physical mechanisms involved. In particular, the project will study the coupling between the outer part of the solid Earth, the lithosphere, where the earthquakes occur, and the overlying fluid portion, the atmosphere.

The objective of SAFE is to capture the information exchanged between the two layers through the integration of the data acquired by the Swarm satellites with those collected by other satellites and by ground-based stations.

This project is funded by ESA, Contract No. 4000116832/15/NL/MP.