Context

The European Union (EU) activated its rapid satellite mapping service to help search efforts, in the wake of Iran President’s death.

About Copernicus Emergency Management Service

• It is part of the EU’s space programme and aims to monitor the Earth and its environment by collecting data from a set of satellites known as the Sentinels. 
• Launched: Launched in 1998 and has been in operation since 2012.
  • It was earlier called Global Monitoring for Environmental Security (GMES). 
• Implementation agencies: Currently, it is implemented by the European Commission (EC) with support from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Environment Agency (EEA).
• Data Collection: 
  • It gets data from contributing missions (existing commercial and public satellites) and in situ or non-space sources such as ground stations.
• Mandate: To provide geo-spatial information derived from satellite remote sensing and in situ data sources to help manage natural disasters, man-made emergencies, and humanitarian crises.
• Components: There are two components of the service- the mapping component and the early warning component. 
  • The Mapping Component: It provides maps and analysis based on satellite imagery.

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• • The Early Warning Component: It issues alerts about floods, droughts, and forest fires, and gives near-real time assessment of forest fire impacts.
• Usage: The data are processed and analyzed to generate value-added information, which can be used for a wide range of applications in many areas. 
  • These include land management, the marine environment, the atmosphere, emergency response, security, and climate change. 
  • Users get the information on a “full, open, and free-of-charge” basis.