The EROS A mission  that comprises 6 panchromatic and multi-spectral satellites, used for observing the territory at high and very high resolution, is a true atout in the field of the latest advances in Remote Sensing technology.  The EROS A satellite is a LEO  (Low Earth Orbit) satellite, programmed to observe the earth. The satellite is in the form of an eight-sided pyramid, its measurements are 1.2 m  in diameter at the base and 2.3 m in height, when launched it weighs 340 kg.  It operates in panchromatic and transmits in X band.  Minimum life span of the EROS A satellite is 4 years.

The mission, owned by ImageSat International Ltd,  currently has the first of six satellites in orbit, namely, EROS A, launched on 5^th December 2000 from the Svobodny polygon in Siberia.  The satellite, placed in heliosynchronous circular orbit, at an altitude of 500 km, orbits around the earth 15 times a day.  It transmits data of  images acquired by remote sensing techniques, in real time, to 16 receiving stations in the world that represent the most solid array of GRS committed to a single mission.

The satellite carries on board a CCD (Charged Coupled Device) panchromatic sensor of the pushbroom type with 11 bit radiometric resolution  with 2,048 levels of grey (geometric resolution 1.8/1.0 m).

EROS is easily manoeuvrable and can be quickly stabilized and pointed towards the site selected by the client, both at nadir (perpendicular to the surface) and at an oblique angle up to 45 degrees in any direction.  Oblique observations enable the satellite to view any given site on the earth twice or three times a week.  An extremely important  feature of the EROS mission is the solid state recorder mounted on board the satellites; this guarantees complete cover of the entire  Earth, even  in the absence of receiving stations.  Images recorded by the recorder are downloaded to the first receiving station on earth that the satellite comes across  during its orbit.