NASA’s provision of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Remote Sensing satellites (ERS-1 and ERS–2) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data archive via the ASF DAAC is free and open by agreement between NASA and ESA. As part of the Earth Observation Heritage Data Program (LTDP+), the ERS-1 and -2 missions provide scientists with historically accurate and easily accessible information to help further understand the dynamics of our planet.

ASF holds a subset of all ERS data.

ERS-2 Mission phases

ERS-2 had one multi-disciplinary phase planned, but in early 2011, ESA changed the satellite orbit so SAR images of the Antarctic could be recorded with the same viewing angle every three days rather than every 35 days. For more information on the phase, see the Delft University of Technology website, which retrieved the information originally from ESA/ESRIN:

• ERS-2, 29-April-96 to 5-Sept-2011