What is Sentinel-2?
The Sentinel-2 mission is a land monitoring constellation of two satellites that provide high resolution optical imagery and provide continuity for the current SPOT and Landsat missions. The mission provides a global coverage of the Earth's land surface every 10 days with one satellite and 5 days with 2 satellites, making the data of great use in on-going studies. The satellites are equipped with the state-of-the-art MSI (Multispectral Imager) instrument, that offers high-resolution optical imagery.
Mission News
Smoke in New South Wales21 November 2019The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured the plumes of smoke from the bushfires in Australia. The recent blazes triggered a ‘hazardous' air quality warning for Sydney – the highest level on Australia's Air Quality Index. 
Emerging cracks in the Pine Island Glacier18 October 2019The Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites have revealed new cracks, or rifts, in the Pine Island Glacier – one of the primary ice arteries in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The two large rifts were first spotted in early 2019 and have each rapidly grown to approximately 20 km in length.
Mission Details
Launch date:
Sentinel-2A - 23 June 2015 Operational lifespan: 7.25 years (with consumables for 12) Mission Objectives:
Mission orbit:
Orbit Height: 786 km
Payload: Resolution and Swath Width: 290 km - 10 m, 20 m and 60 m spatial resolution
Configuration: Launch vehicle:
Vega rocket (Sentinel-2A) Ad interim operator: ESA Data processing:
Contractors: Astrium Germany has been prime contracted to construct the Sentinel-2 satellite and leads a consortium with core partners:
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Key Resources
Key resources for the Sentinel-2 mission are available via the Sentinel Online website.
ESA Mission Continuity
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