The European Space Agency (ESA) has shared the first images from Sentinel-1D, a satellite that was largely developed in Belgium. The radar images show Tierra del Fuego and the Thwaites Glacier in great detail, as well as the Elbe estuary in Germany, where the European space budget is currently being discussed.
First radar images from “Belgian” satellite that observes our planet day and night with razor-sharp precision
Colin Clapson
Published:
Sentinel-1D is an observation satellite made in Belgium – or at least largely so. The company Thales Alenia Space Belgium developed its “heart”. On 4 November, the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched the satellite using an Ariane 6 rocket.
The first images from the satellite arrived within 50 hours, possibly a record for a radar satellite observing the Earth, ESA writes in a press release. These first images focused on the Antarctic Peninsula, Tierra del Fuego (the southern tip of South America) and the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica.
According to Nuno Miranda, Mission Manager of Sentinel-1, the latest images are of unprecedented high quality.
Photo below: the Thwaites Glacier is located in western Antarctica. To the north of it, the Pine Island Glacier can be seen. Thwaites is one of the most unstable glaciers at the South Pole and could retreat rapidly. The sea ice is purple or violet in colour due to radar polarisation. This photo was taken on 6 November.
Photo below: Tierra del Fuego is the southernmost part of South America and has many archipelagos. It is divided between Chile and Argentina. The blue areas on land are snow-covered zones.
Photo below: The Antarctic Peninsula in West Antarctica is about 1,300 kilometres long. The ice cap rests on a base of rocky islands. Because the glacier is relatively narrow, it is very sensitive to climate change. Through careful observation, researchers can clearly see how the glaciers are evolving over time.
The images are part of the Copernicus programme, the Earth observation programme of the European Union and ESA. Europe's eye on Earth.
The aim is to collect information and in particular about the environment and climate, and to make that scientific data freely and openly available. Scientists around the world can use it for their work.