15/01/2026
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After greater than 10 years in orbit, the primary Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite tv for pc, Sentinel-2A, remains to be discovering new methods to contribute to Earth statement. With its youthful siblings, Sentinel-2B and Sentinel-2C, now main the mission’s core activity of delivering high-resolution, ‘camera-like’ photographs of Earth’s floor, the European House Company is pushing Sentinel-2A past its unique remit.
In current trials, this aged satellite tv for pc was even switched on at night time to see how it might carry out at nighttime – and the outcomes have been strikingly optimistic, providing encouraging information for the follow-on Copernicus Sentinel-2 Subsequent Technology mission, at present in improvement.
Copernicus is the Earth statement element of the European Union’s House programme.
When Sentinel-2A was launched in 2015, it marked a significant milestone – combining a high-resolution multispectral optical imager with a 290 km-wide swath, to return spectacular views of Earth’s altering lands for a brand new perspective of our land and coastal areas for agriculture, and forest and water administration – particularly for the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service.
The satellite tv for pc, nonetheless, has gone above and past – additionally returning new details about our marine biology, methane emissions and altering polar ice.
Because the Sentinel-2 mission relies on two similar satellites in the identical orbit, 180° aside for optimum protection and knowledge supply, Sentinel-2B was launched in 2017. Sentinel-2C adopted in 2024 to exchange Sentinel-2A.
The satellites all carry a 13-band multispectral imager, which, like a digital camera, depends on mild to seize photographs – on this case, utilizing daylight mirrored by Earth’s floor and the ambiance to watch the planet.
Nevertheless, the satellites expertise darkness throughout night-time passes. Underneath regular operations, the imagers are switched off when the satellites passes over night-shrouded elements of the planet.
In essence, the present era of Sentinel-2 satellites, which may even embody Sentinel-2D sooner or later, had been by no means designed to picture at night time – however the plan is that the follow-on Sentinel-2 Subsequent Technology mission will certainly accomplish that over sure areas.
As Sentinel-2A approaches the top of its operational life, it continues to help the operational Sentinel-2 mission – however, as well as, engineers and scientists are utilizing some its remaining time in orbit to check new concepts for the longer term and to organize for the Subsequent Technology mission. One such experiment has been to see how it might fare when switching it on at night time.
As these take a look at photographs featured on this article present, it did remarkably properly.
ESA’s Sentinel-2 Subsequent Technology Mission Scientist, Simon Proud, stated, “We’re extraordinarily happy with these outcomes, which assist pave the way in which for the Sentinel-2 Subsequent Technology mission.
“Not solely has Sentinel-2A been capable of seize photographs of gasoline flares from oil manufacturing within the Center East, that are after all fairly vivid, but in addition extra delicate traits akin to a wildfire in India and fishing boats off the coast of South Korea – all throughout the night-time.
“The present Sentinel-2 mission stays excellent, delivering a wealth of information for Copernicus operational providers, the business sector and for science, however we are actually additional pushing the boundaries of what an optical mission can do.
“These experiments are offering invaluable perception as we design Sentinel-2 Subsequent Technology, which is being developed with the bold objective of delivering even increased decision imagery and imaging some elements of the planet even when the Solar is down.
“Proper now, we’re establishing key options that the subsequent era mission ought to see at night time, and we’re assessing the technical feasibility of night time imaging.
“The outcomes from Sentinel-2A present that for all of our night-time targets, together with metropolis lights, gasoline flares and fishing monitoring, the Sentinel-2 Subsequent Technology mission will contribute a big quantity of helpful data to the group.
“Evening-time imagery, for instance, is extraordinarily helpful for safety and for monitoring metropolis lights, that are a sign of city development.”
ESA’s Sentinel-2 Mission Supervisor, Ferran Gascon, added, “This experiment was rigorously ready by the mission groups, and it has naturally put pressure on the Sentinel-2A satellite tv for pc, however it has been properly value exploring what this ageing satellite tv for pc can do to assist put together for the longer term. Switching on the satellite tv for pc to picture at night time required an excessive amount of vitality, however Sentinel-2A did very properly.
“Even after 10 years in orbit and this demanding experiment, the satellite tv for pc remains to be in remarkably good well being and continues to ship a wealth of information to many customers that profit from the satellite tv for pc for a variety of on a regular basis functions.”
