Copernicus Programme


Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union Space Programme, managed by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with the EU member states, the European Space Agency, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the Joint Research Centre, the European Environment Agency, the European Maritime Safety Agency, Frontex, SatCen, and Mercator Océan.
The programme aims at achieving a global, continuous, autonomous, high quality, wide range Earth observation capacity, providing accurate, timely and easily accessible information to, among other things, improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change, and ensure civil security.
Since 2021, Copernicus is a component of the EU Space Programme, which aims to bolster the EU Space policy in the fields of Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation, Connectivity, Space Research, and Innovation and supports investments in critical infrastructure and disruptive technologies.
File:Italy and Mediterranean ESA391025.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Italian Peninsula and the Mediterranean Sea, image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-3A on 28 September 2016.

Program definition

The objective for Copernicus is to use vast amount of global data from satellites and from ground-based, airborne and seaborne measurement systems to produce timely and quality information, services and knowledge, and to provide autonomous and independent access to information in the domains of environment and security on a global level in order to help service providers, public authorities and other international organizations improve the quality of life for the citizens of Europe. In other words, it pulls together all the information obtained by the Copernicus environmental satellites, air and ground stations and sensors to provide a comprehensive picture of the "health" of Earth.
One of the benefits of the Copernicus programme is that the data and information produced in the framework of Copernicus are made available free-of-charge to all its users and the public, thus allowing downstream services to be developed.
The services offered by Copernicus cover six main interacting themes: atmosphere, marine, land, climate, emergency and security.
Copernicus builds upon three components:
  • The space component. This comprises two types of satellite missions, ESA's six families of dedicated Sentinel and missions from other space agencies, called Contributing Missions;
  • In-situ measurements ;
  • Services developed and managed by Copernicus and offered to its users and public in general.
It was named after the scientist and observer Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus' theory of the heliocentric universe made a pioneering contribution to modern science.
Its costs during 1998 to 2020 are estimated at €6.7 billion with around €4.3 billion spent in the period 2014 to 2020 and shared between the EU and ESA with benefits of the data to the EU economy estimated at €30 billion through 2030. ESA as a main partner has performed much of the design and oversees and co-funds the development of Sentinel missions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 with each Sentinel mission consisting of at least 2 satellites and some, such as Sentinel 1, 2 and 3, consisting of 4 satellites. They will also provide the instruments for Meteosat Third Generation and MetOp-SG weather satellites of EUMETSAT where ESA and EUMETSAT will also coordinate the delivery of data from upwards of 30 satellites that form the contributing satellite missions to Copernicus.

History

The Copernicus programme was established by the Regulation No 377/2014 in 2014, building on the previous EU's Earth monitoring initiative GMES.
Over a few decades, European and national institutions have made substantial R&D efforts in the field of Earth observation. These efforts have resulted in tremendous achievements but the services and products developed during this period had limitations that were inherent to R&D activities. The idea for a global and continuous European Earth observation system was developed under the name of Global Monitoring for Environment and Security which was later re-branded into Copernicus after the EU became directly involved in financing and development. It follows and greatly expands on the work of the previous €2.3 billion European Envisat programme which operated from 2002 to 2012.
Copernicus moved from R&D to operational services following a phased approach. Pre-operational services were phased in between 2008 and 2010. Copernicus initial operations began in 2011. Copernicus became fully operational in 2014.

Chronology

  • 19 May 1998: institutions involved in the development of space activities in Europe give birth to GMES through a declaration known as "The Baveno Manifesto". At that time, GMES stands for "Global Monitoring for Environmental Security".
  • Year 1999: the name is changed to "Global Monitoring for Environment and Security", thus illustrating that the management of the environment also has security implications.
  • 2001: at the occasion of the Gothenburg Summit, the Heads of State and Government request that "the Community contribute to establishing by 2008 a European capacity for Global Monitoring for Environment and Security".
  • October 2002: the nature and scope of the "Security" component of GMES are defined as addressing prevention of and response to crises related to natural and technological risk, humanitarian aid and international cooperation, monitoring of compliance with international treaties for conflict prevention, humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping tasks and surveillance of EU borders.
  • February 2004: the Commission Communication "GMES: Establishing a GMES capacity by 2008" introduces an Action Plan aimed at establishing a working GMES capacity by 2008. In 2004, a Framework Agreement is also signed between EC and ESA, thus providing the basis for a space component of GMES.
  • May 2005: the Commission Communication "GMES: From Concept to Reality" establishes priorities for the roll-out of GMES services in 2008, the initial focus being on land monitoring, marine monitoring and emergency response services, also known as Fast Track Services. Later services, also known as Pilot Services, are expected to address atmosphere monitoring, security and climate change.
  • June 2006: the EC establishes the GMES Bureau, with the primary objective of ensuring the delivery of the priority services by 2008. Other objectives of the GMES Bureau are to address the issues of the GMES governance structure and the long-term financial sustainability of the system.
  • May 2007: adoption of the European Space Policy Communication, recognising GMES as a major flagship of the Space Policy.
  • September 2008: official launch of the three FTS services and two Pilot services in their pre-operational version at the occasion of the GMES Forum held in Lille, France.
  • November 2008: the Commission Communication "GMES: We care for a Safer Planet" establishes a basis for further discussions on the financing, operational infrastructure and effective management of GMES.
  • May 2009: the Commission Proposal for a Regulation on "the European Earth Observation Programme and its initial operations " proposes a legal basis for the GMES programme and EC funding of its initial operations.
  • November 2010: the regulation on "the European Earth Observation Programme and its initial operations " entered into force.
  • June 2011: the Commission presents its proposal for the next multiannual financial framework corresponding to the period 2014-2020. In this document, the Commission proposes to foresee the funding of the GMES programme outside the multiannual financial framework after 2014.
  • November 2011: The Commission Communication on the "European Earth monitoring programme and its operations " presents the commission's proposals for the future funding, governance and operations of the GMES programme for the period 2014–2020. In particular, the Commission proposes to opt for the creation of a specific GMES fund, similar to the model chosen for the European Development Fund, with financial contributions from all Member States, based on their gross national income.
  • April 2012: The Emergency Management Service – Mapping is declared the first fully operational service within the GMES Initial Operations.
  • December 2012: the Commission announces the name change to Copernicus.
  • October 2014: ESA and European Commission have established a budget for Copernicus Programme covering years 2014–2020 within Multiannual Financial Framework. Budget provided a total of €4.3 billion, including €3.15 billion for ESA to cover operations of the satellite network and construction of the remaining satellites.
  • November 2020: launch of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich to enable the provision of high-precision and timely observations of the topography of the global ocean
  • January 2021: the regulation 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme entered into force establishing a budget of €5.421 billion under the Multiannual Financial Framework corresponding to the period 2021-2027.
  • January 2023: Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the new data access, processing and visualization gateway of the Copernicus Programme is launched. Compared to the earlier Copernicus Open Science Hub, this portal now provides new API-s for data access and download, a web browser-based visualization and analysis interface, on-board coding interfaces and on-board cloud processing capacity.
  • October 2024: UK's decision to re-enter Copernicus after Brexit has been essential to secure funding for the completion of the Copernicus Sentinel Expansion Missions.