Florence Hélière

BIOMASS: A P-band SAR earth explorer core mission candidate

The greatest uncertainties in the global carbon cycle involve estimating how carbon dioxide is taken up by land. The BIOMASS mission aims to improve the present assessment and future projection of the terrestrial carbon cycle by providing consistent global maps of forest biomass and forest area, forest disturbances and recovery with time, and the extent and evolution of the forest flooding. The BIOMASS primary objectives can be achieved through P-band (435MHz) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations of global forest cover. Two parallel industrial studies at phase 0 level were awarded respectively to Astrium GmbH and Thales Alenia Space Italy. This paper presents the resulting system concepts as elaborated by the industrial teams. The result of the phase 0 was presented to the user community in January 2009 in Lisbon together with other Earth Explorer candidates for further down-selection. If successfully selected after phase 0 and phase A, BIOMASS will be launched during 2016.

ESA future earth observation explorer missions

A new call for Core Earth Explorer Ideas was released by the European Space Agency in March 2005. The Call focused on the global carbon and water cycles, atmospheric chemistry and climate, as well as the human element as a cross cutting issue. The proposals were peer reviewed by scientific panels, and also appraised technically and programmatically by ESA. This paper describes the Earth Explorer cycle and gives an overview of the six candidate missions selected for assessment studies.

The Biomass mission, status of the satellite system

Earth Explorers are the backbone of the science and research element of European Space Agency (ESA)s Living Planet Programme, providing an important contribution to the understanding of the Earth system. Following the User Consultation Meeting held in Graz, Austria on 5-6 March 2013, the ESA Program Board has decided implementing Biomass as the 7th Earth Explorer Mission within the frame of the ESA Earth Observation Envelope Programme. This paper will give an overview of the satellite system and its payload. The system technical description presented here is based on the results of the work performed during parallel Phase A system studies by two industrial consortia led by Airbus Space and Defence Ltd. and Thales Alenia Space Italy. Two implementation concepts (respectively A and B) are described and provide viable options capable of meeting the mission requirements.

Biomass, CoReH 2 O, PREMIER: ESA's candidate 7 th Earth Explorer Missions

The European Space Agency (ESA) released a Call for Proposals for the next Earth Explorer Core Mission in March 2005, with the aim to select the 7th Earth Explorer (EE-7) mission for launch in the next decade [1]. Twenty-four proposals were received and subject to scientific and technical assessment. Six candidate missions were selected and further investigated in the preliminary feasibility studies (Phase 0). A further down-selection was made after the User Consultation Meeting held in Lisbon, Portugal in January 2009. Three candidate missions were selected for further feasibility investigations (phase A). Each of the candidate missions is now being defined in detail through two parallel and competing industrial studies and many complementary science and technology studies, aiming to the final down-selection in 2011/12, followed by the mission implementation with a planned launch in the 2016/17 timeframe.

ESA future Earth observation Explorer missions

A new call for Core Earth Explorer Ideas was released by the European Space Agency in March 2005. The Call focused on the global carbon and water cycles, atmospheric chemistry and climate, as well as the human element as a cross cutting issue. The proposals were peer reviewed by scientific panels, and also appraised technically and programmatically by ESA. This paper describes the Earth Explorer cycle and gives an overview of the six candidate missions selected for assessment studies.

Cold region hydrology high-resolution observatory (CoReH 2 O): A new microwave earth explorer core mission candidate

The CoReH2O mission focuses on spatially detailed observation of global snow, ice and water cycle parameters using a SAR at X- and Ku-bands in regions where snow and ice play a major role in the water and energy cycles as well as in biospheric processes. Two parallel industrial studies at phase 0 level have been awarded respectively to Astrium GmbH and Thales Alenia Space-Italy. This paper presents the resulting system concepts as elaborated by the industrial teams. The result of the phase 0 has been presented to the user community in January 2009 in Lisbon together with other Earth Explorer candidates for further down-selection. If successfully selected after phase 0 and phase A, CoReH2O will be launched during 2016.

ESA'S CoReH 2 O system and payload overview

The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing candidates for the next Earth Explorer Core mission with the aim to select the 7th mission to be launched. Earth Explorers are the backbone of the science and research element of ESAs Living Planet Programme, providing an important contribution to the global endeavour of understanding the Earth system. Six candidate missions were originally selected and investigated in preliminary studies (Phase 0). A down-selection was made after a User Consultation Meeting in January 2009. Three of the candidate missions (Biomass, CoReH2O and PREMIER) were retained for more detailed feasibility investigations (Phase A). Each mission has been prepared through two parallel and competing industrial studies and many complementary science and technology activities. The final down-selection will be in 2013, followed by implementation and planned launch in 2019. This paper gives an overview of the CoReH2O requirements, mission concept and profile, satellite, payload, and status of the mission.

Ground processing RFI mitigation strategy for BIOMASS: A feasibility study

BIOMASS mission [1] was selected as the 7th Earth Explorer Mission within the frame of the ESA Earth Observation Envelope Programme. Being the BIOMASS instrument a P-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and being that frequency bandwidth already in use by different services, the BIOMASS acquisitions are expected to be occasionally affected by Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). In the framework of a comprehensive strategy for the BIOMASS mission to cope with the interference signals, in addition to design choices at both mission and instrument level, in this paper it is presented a study aimed at verifying the feasibility of an on-ground processing approach to mitigate the quality degradation on BIOMASS Level1 data due to RFI.

Design and validation of a X/ Ku band feed system for ScanSAR antenna

The paper presents the design and validation of a dual band feed system for the reflector antenna of the CoReH2O (Cold Regions Hydrology High-resolution Observatory) SAR instrument, investigated under ESA contract. The antenna is a dual linearly polarized single-offset reflector, illuminated by two side feed arrays operating in X and Ku band respectively. Each array comprises seven compact multimodal horns in quasi rectangular waveguide. The horns are sequentially excited, a couple at a time, for optimum antenna pattern synthesis and secondary beams overlap. Each horn is a multiple step rectangular waveguide structure that provides the proper modal content at aperture, very close to the benchmark patterns analytically synthesized by modal superimposition at feed apertures level. The RF design has been validated through a complete characterization by test of the feeding system, proceeding from the single feeding elements to a complete feeding system composed by 4+4 elements. The measured results showed very good agreement with predictions at each stage of the campaign. Measured pattern has been used as primary source in the antenna model and very good performance have been predicted on secondary beams.

Design and characterization of the CoReH2O Ku-band multi-feed antenna

In 2009, Astrium GmbH, RuagSpaceAB and ComDev Europe have been charged by ESA for a Ku-band antenna feed bread-board (B/B) activity. The scope of the activity is to establish sufficient technology readiness for the Ku-band part of the dual-band (X- and Ku-band) and dual-polarized CoReH2O (COld REgions Hydrology High-resolution Observatory) ScanSAR instrument. The low-cost feed system is proposed in this paper based on the multi-feed antenna (MFA) concept. The design, the simulated and measured performance are presented. The measurements of the prototype show very good matching with the simulations, which confirm high performance of the device and its ability of fast beam scan in elevation.