The Copernicus programme is the largest Earth observation system in operation, and for many GIS professionals it serves as the default source of free, high-cadence satellite imagery.
Where commercial providers charge per scene, Copernicus delivers global coverage across optical, radar, and atmospheric sensors on a daily to weekly cycle — with no licensing restrictions. This combination of spatial resolution, revisit frequency, and open access has made Sentinel data the foundation for workflows ranging from agricultural monitoring and urban expansion tracking to disaster response and air quality analysis.
What sets Copernicus apart from other open satellite programs is breadth. The Sentinel constellation covers optical multispectral (Sentinel-2), synthetic aperture radar (Sentinel-1), ocean and land surface monitoring (Sentinel-3), atmospheric composition (Sentinel-5P), and sea level altimetry (Sentinel-6) — all under one programme with consistent data policies.
On top of raw imagery, Copernicus operates six thematic services that produce analysis-ready products for atmosphere, marine, land, climate, security, and emergency management. Data is available through the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem as well as cloud platforms like Google Earth Engine, AWS, and Microsoft Planetary Computer, in formats including GeoTIFF, NetCDF, and SAFE.
