Copernicus is the European Union’s revolutionary Earth Observation and Monitoring programme, looking at our planet and its environment for the ultimate benefit of all European citizens. Thanks to a variety of technologies, from satellites in space to measurement systems on the ground, in the sea and in the air, Copernicus delivers operational data and information services openly and freely in a wide range of application areas.

The development of the observation infrastructure is performed under the aegis of the European Space Agency for the space component and by the European Environment Agency and EU countries for the in situ component.

It consists of a complex set of systems which collect data from multiple sources: earth observation satellites and in situ sensors such as ground stations, airborne sensors, and sea-borne sensors. It processes this data and provides users with reliable and up-to-date information through a set of services related to environmental and security issues.

Source: copernicus.eu