Satellite navigation systems are based on the highly precise measurement of time. A receiver on the ground pinpoints their positions by calculating how long signals from satellites in orbit take to reach it.
ESA and NASA have joined forces to ensure that Sentinel-2 and the newly launched Landsat Data Continuity Mission offer compatible data products, thereby bringing greater benefits to users of images of Earth’s land and coastal zones.
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In 2009 three candidate Earth Explorer Core missions, namely BIOMASS, CoReH2O and PREMIER were selected for feasibility study and their resulting Reports for Mission Selection were published in June 2012.
ESA’s ice mission is now giving scientists a closer look at oceans, coastal areas, inland water bodies and even land, reaching above and beyond its original objectives. Launched in 2010, the polar-orbiting CryoSat was developed to measure the changes in the thickness of polar sea ice, the elevation of the ice sheets that blanket Greenland and Antarctica, and mountain glaciers.
Europe’s third Galileo satellite has transmitted its first test navigation signals back to Earth. The two Galileo satellites launched last October have reached their final orbital position and are in the midst of testing.
On 21 November 2012, ESA concluded a successful two-day Council meeting at ministerial level in Naples, Italy. Ministers from ESA’s 20 member states and Canada allocated €10 billion for ESA’s space activities and programmes for the years to come.