ESA Sentinel-1D delivers first high-resolution images
11 days ago
- #Climate Change
- #ESA
- #Sentinel-1D
- First high-resolution images from Copernicus Sentinel-1D were shared at the European Space Agency’s Ministerial Council in Bremen, Germany.
- Sentinel-1D was launched on 4 November 2025 aboard an Ariane 6 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
- Initial images captured Antarctic Peninsula, Tierra del Fuego, Thwaites Glacier, and Bremen within 50 hours of launch.
- Images demonstrate unprecedented data quality, setting a new record for space radar data delivery speed.
- Radar instruments enable imaging through clouds and darkness, ideal for polar region monitoring.
- Sentinel-1D also features an Automatic Identification System (AIS) for ship and sea pollution detection.
- Images highlight the fragility of Antarctic glaciers, vulnerable to climate change.
- Thwaites Glacier is one of the most unstable in Antarctica, at risk of rapid retreat.
- The release coincides with COP30 and the UN’s International Year of Glaciers' Preservation.
- Glaciers lost a record amount of ice from October 2023 to September 2024, contributing to sea-level rise.
- ESA officials praised the mission’s success and its importance for climate action and Earth observation.