Sentinel-5P is the latest satellite mission of the European Earth observation programme, Copernicus.

The satellite was launched on 13 October to monitor the atmosphere and map gases and particles that pollute the air. Less than two months after its launch, the Sentinel-5P has already delivered its first images of air pollution thus marking an important milestone both for the mission and for atmospheric monitoring from space in general.

The images were presented on 1 December at the Earth Observation Center (EOC) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen, where Sentinel-5P’s data is processed. Although the satellite is not yet ready for service, these first results show how this mission has the ability to deeply improve the task of monitoring air quality. All data provided by the Copernicus programme, including the data that will be provided by Sentinel-5P, is free and open to access.