The future of Europe's Earth observation capabilities has been secured with the confirmation that all six Copernicus Sentinel Expansion Missions will be completed, thanks to the UK's decision to re-join the EU's Copernicus programme. This announcement was made during the International Astronautical Congress held in Milan, Italy.

Copernicus is Europe's Earth observation programme, anchored by a constellation of six satellite families called Sentinels, which are designed to meet the needs of Copernicus services and a wide range of users. The Sentinel satellites deliver crucial information about Earth, addressing how our planet and its climate are changing. The addition of six Sentinel Expansion Missions will extend these capabilities further, providing more detailed insights into specific aspects of our planet's health.

Simonetta Cheli, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes, said, "The decision by the UK Government to participate in the EU Copernicus Programme has been essential to secure the completion of the Copernicus Sentinel Expansion Missions. These missions are critical for addressing EU policy and gaps in Copernicus user needs, and to expand the current capabilities of the Copernicus Space Component."

The six Copernicus Sentinel Expansion Missions are:

• CO2M (Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring) – to monitor greenhouse gas emissions

• CIMR (Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer) – to provide observations of sea-ice concentration and sea-surface temperature

• CHIME (Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission) – to deliver hyperspectral observations for sustainable agriculture and biodiversity management

• CRISTAL (Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter) – to measure sea ice thickness and ice sheet elevations

• LSTM (Land Surface Temperature Monitoring) – to provide observations of land-surface temperature for sustainable agriculture and to predict drought

• ROSE-L (L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar) – to provide observations of soil moisture, crop type discrimination and forest biomass

The CO2M mission, which will be the first of the six missions to be launched, will comprise three satellites: CO2M-A and CO2M-B are currently under development, while CO2M-C will be implemented from 2025. These satellites will fly in Sun-synchronous orbits at an altitude of 735 km.

The primary objective of CO2M is to measure emissions of carbon dioxide resulting from human activity. The mission will also measure concentrations of methane and nitrogen dioxide. These measurements will contribute to the monitoring of global greenhouse gases and help track nations' progress in achieving their emission reduction targets set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change.

With the future of these missions now secured, Europe is set to maintain its position at the forefront of Earth observation, providing crucial data for understanding and addressing the challenges of climate change and environmental management.