A low-orbiting experimental spacecraft that was launched by the Russian Federal Space Agency (RSA) on 26 August 2005 into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 550 km, covering swathes 90–160 km wide with a resolution of 8–20 m. Its purpose was to acquire remote sensing data for environmental monitoring, emergency monitoring, and research into natural resources. The spacecraft was designed to live for five years but communication with it was lost and Monitor-E was removed from service in August 2008.

http://eng.ntsomz.ru/ks_dzz/satellites/monitor_E An RSA mission to study and map the geology and environment of the Earth.