A European Earth observation programme aiming at monitoring land, atmosphere and the marine environment, supporting emergency management, ensuring civil security and mitigating the consequences of climate change.
The programme was officially established in 2014 by the European Commission and the European Space Agency, serving as a successor of the project GMES (Global Monitoring of Environmental Security), which has existed since 1998. Copernicus Programme utilizes the Sentinel missions for surveillance and observation of land, ocean and atmosphere, as well as a range of contributing missions organized by various countries.
Etymology:
The programme is named after Nicolaus Copernicus, who was a Renaissance scientist and the author of the heliocentric model of the Universe.
