MetOp-SG A1/Sentinel-5A

MetOp-SG A1/Sentinel-5A is a European meteorology and Earth observation satellite. It is the first of three satellites in the Sentinel-5 constellation, part of the European Union's Copernicus programme on Earth observation and also first of six MetOp-SG satellites.

Timeline

In January 2025, ESA signed a contract with Arianespace to launch the satellite in the August 2025 on Ariane 6. On 13 August 2025, MetOp-SG A1 with Sentinel-5A has launched into space on Ariane 62 L6003.

Less than three weeks after launch, EUMETSAT received and processed initial data from two instruments: the Microwave Sounder and Radio Occultation Sounder. On 15 September 2025, EUMETSAT has released the first images captured by the Multiviewing multichannel multipolarisation imager on 28 August over the Mediterranean showing cloud structures over Italy and wildfire smoke near Greece. On 07 October 2025, EUMETSAT has released the first Earth images from the satellite's METimage instrument, including an image of Hurricane Humberto. On 22 October, EUMETSAT has released the first data from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer-New Generation instrument, a spectrum showing the composition of the atmosphere over Toulouse and a near-global map of thermal properties of clouds and Earth's surface.
First data from the Sentinel-5A mission were released on 26 November 2025 during the ESA ministerial council held in Bremen, Germany. They included maps of atmospheric concentrations of formaldehyde and ozone. The formaldehyde map showed elevated values along the coast of Angola, caused by wildfire emissions, and over the Central African Republic caused by fire and biogenic sources. The ozone map showed the seasonal depletion of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica.