ESA Earth Observation Programmes and International Cooperation in the frame of Third Party Missions

In Europe most Earth Observation (EO) data users rely on several EO missions, both to increase sustainability of their service and to widen the range of observation parameters. In addition to its own missions such as ERS 1 &2, ENVISAT and the Earth Explorers, ESA therefore offers access to the scientific and applications community to so-called 'Third Party Missions'. Third Party (TP) missions are complementing the observations of ESA missions, are used to prepare for future ESA missions including cross-calibration and create synergy to favor a wider use of EO data within ESA Member States.