On 20 September, the Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite tv for pc captured its first shocking symbol of the Moon, completed through rolling the satellite tv for pc sideways in a singular manoeuvre. Even supposing Sentinel-2C is designed for Earth remark, this symbol – meant for calibration and cross-mission comparisons – exceeded expectancies. The picture, with an excellent decision of round 5 km, finds notable lunar options, together with the Copernicus Crater, the Tycho Crater and the lunar seas: the Sea of Tranquillity, the Sea of Moisture and the Sea of Clouds. This showcases the flexibility of Sentinel-2C’s multispectral imager, which generally operates from its 786 km orbit to seize high-resolution information of Earth’s land and coastal waters. This lunar symbol is a part of a normal ‘Moon calibration’ procedure. Kind of as soon as a month, the satellite tv for pc will roll sideways to symbol the Moon as an alternative of Earth. The Moon’s well known and strong gentle depth lets in us to come across and right kind even the smallest adjustments within the device’s efficiency, which will happen because of growing old, comparable to optical coating degradation or detector drifts. This procedure guarantees the ‘radiometric accuracy’ of the information stays exact right through the venture, a crucial parameter for lots of programs. The uncooked information to begin with displayed an elongated, eclipse-shaped Moon led to through the relative movement between the Moon and the satellite tv for pc. A correction of this impact was once performed to understand this implausible symbol.Introduced on 5 September 2024, Sentinel-2C joins its dual satellites in orbit proceeding to ship precious high-resolution imagery for the Copernicus programme.