FLEX and Sentinel-3C (ESA)

Launched together on September 15, 2026, ESA's FLEX maps the faint glow of photosynthesis while Sentinel-3C watches oceans and land.

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

FLEX and Sentinel-3C: Mission Status

Commissioning; Sentinel-3C has returned first views. Dates per ESA; missions shift.

The Five W's of FLEX

Who

ESA, with Sentinel-3 part of the EU's Copernicus programme.

Source: ESA, FLEX

Source: ESA, Sentinel-3

What

FLEX maps plant fluorescence; Sentinel-3C measures ocean and land.

Source: ESA, FLEX

When

Launched together September 15, 2026 on Vega-C; Sentinel-3C first views October 2026.

Source: ESA, Sentinel-3

Where

Earth orbit, flying from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

Source: ESA, Sentinel-3

Why

To understand plant health, photosynthesis and the carbon cycle.

Source: ESA, FLEX

Impact Statement

Agency solution · active

ESA's Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) and Copernicus Sentinel-3C launched together on a Vega-C on September 15, 2026. FLEX measures the faint fluorescence plants give off during photosynthesis to reveal the health of the world's vegetation and how carbon moves between plants and the air. Sentinel-3C, which returned its first views of Earth in October 2026, continues the Sentinel-3 record of ocean and land.

Source: ESA, FLEX

Source: ESA, Sentinel-3

See also Deforestation.

For Further Information: ESA, FLEX

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