ESA
Europe’s space agency, powering Copernicus and global Earth observation.
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to space exploration and Earth observation. Through the Copernicus Programme, developed with the European Commission, ESA provides open, high-quality data from the Sentinel satellites and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). These datasets are a global standard for monitoring land, ocean, atmosphere, and climate change, and are essential for governments, researchers, and businesses seeking to understand and respond to environmental change.
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Type |
Space agency & Earth observation programmes |
|
Jurisdiction |
Multinational (22 European member states + EU) |
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Sector Relevance |
Climate science, biodiversity monitoring, land use, corporate sustainability, policy |
Established / Active Since
1975
Maintained By / Organised By
ESA (22 European member states) in partnership with the European Commission for Copernicus.
Official Resources
Relationship to Lemu
Lemu integrates ESA’s Copernicus datasets, especially land cover maps from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), to ensure global consistency and scientific rigour across Atlas indicators. These inputs strengthen the accuracy of carbon and ecosystem monitoring and support the development of composite indicators such as LemuRank.