The vast potential of ESA’s upcoming Sentinel-2 satellites came into focus last week at a symposium in Italy on how they will benefit current and future projects that exploit Earth observation data.

International stakeholders met in Copenhagen this week to discuss the contribution of space technologies to one of the region’s most affected by climate change.

The three satellites that make up ESA’s Swarm magnetic field mission were presented to the media on Feb 17. Following a demanding testing program, the satellites were displayed in the cleanroom before they are shipped to Russia for their July launch.

The deadline for abstract submissions for the April 2012 symposium on the Sentinel-2 satellite is just around the corner.

Dry soil resulting from Europe’s exceptionally warm and dry autumn is being monitored by ESA’s SMOS water mission. The images here show the stark comparison between soil moisture in November 2010 and November 2011.