Munich/Neustrelitz, Germany, XX October 2022: ESA and GAF AG will continue to provide free-of-charge access to Digital Surface Models (DSMs), high-resolution (HR) and medium-resolution (MR) data for scientific users. In September 2022 they extended their agreement under ESA’s Third-Party Missions (TPM) Programme regarding the provision of IRS data and DSMs until the end of 2024 or until full consumption of the budget, whichever occurs first.
Therefore, depending on the scientific relevance of proposals, ESA will continue to grant scientists free-of-charge access to IRS optical HR/MR satellite imagery and DSMs. ESA and GAF are the exclusive suppliers in Europe of optical Indian remote sensing satellite (IRS) data from several missions. This unique service began in May 2017, funded by and carried out under the Third-Party Missions Programme of the European Space Agency.
The agreement encompasses European as well as worldwide products from archive data from the IRS-1C, IRS-1D Resourcesat-1 and Cartosat-1 missions, as well as archive and new data from Resourcesat-2, continuously acquired since 1996.
Interested scientists can submit short project proposals, together with associated data requirements, to ESA. Depending on the scientific relevance of the proposal, ESA will grant the project a quota for IRS data products.
This allows access at no charge to high-resolution data from the PAN, LISS-IV Mono and LISS-III sensors as well as medium-resolution data from the WiFS and AWiFS sensors, from 1996 until today. Data can be obtained at various processing levels, including as Euro-Maps 3D DSMs with 5 m post spacing.
For more information, please visit ESA’s Third Party Missions page or contact GAF’s customer support via [email protected].
As a result of an earlier agreement, Oceansat-2 ocean color monitor (OCM) data acquired at the Neustrelitz ground station is also available free-of-charge to all users worldwide through the ESA TPM Online Dissemination System. For more information about OCM data, visit the Oceansat-2 mission page.
The data provision activities are funded by and carried out under the European Space Agency’s Earthnet programme and its Third Party Mission activities.
The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.
About ESA / ESRIN: www.esa.int/About_Us/ESRIN
ESRIN, the ESA Centre for Earth Observation, is one of the five ESA specialised centres situated in Europe. Located in Frascati, a small town 20 km south of Rome in Italy, ESRIN was established in 1966 and first began acquiring data from environmental satellites in the 1970s. Since 2004, ESRIN has been the headquarters for ESA’s Earth observation activities.
In addition to providing users with data from its own Earth observation satellites, ESA has for many years provided users with access to a number of non-ESA EO missions – so-called Third-Party Missions (TPM). ESA’s TPM scheme has operated for more than 40 years, providing EO data to users in Europe and around the world, and currently includes over 60 instruments on more than 50 missions.
About GAF AG: www.gaf.de
GAF is a leading geo-information company with an international reputation as a skilled provider of data, products and services in the fields of geo-information, spatial IT and consulting for private and public clients. As a result of a merger with its former subsidiary Euromap GmbH, GAF has become the exclusive supplier in Europe of optical Indian remote sensing data from several missions. The company’s archives contain systematic coverage of Europe and northern Africa from 1996 and onwards, and include satellite raw data from the high and medium resolution IRS missions IRS‑1C, IRS-1D, Resourcesat-1, Resourcesat-2 and Cartosat-1. GAF is also specialised in the production of orthoimage mosaics and digital elevation models from various high and very-high resolution satellite missions. The company is part of the Telespazio Group, which belongs to Leonardo and Thales, two major European technology firms.
