Joerg Langen

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.

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.

ESA's premier mission candidate: System and payload overview

The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing candidates for the 7th Earth Explorer Core mission with the aim to select one of them to be launched towards the end of this decade. 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, particularly in view of global climate change. Six candidate missions were selected and further investigated in the preliminary assessment studies (Phase 0). A further down-selection was made after the User Consultation Meeting held in Lisbon, Portugal in January 2009. Three candidate missions (Biomass, CoReH2O and PREMIER) were selected for further feasibility investigations (Phase A). Each of the candidate missions has been defined in detail through two parallel and competing industrial studies and many complementary science and technology studies, aiming to the final down-selection in 2013, followed by the mission implementation with a planned launch in 2019. This paper will give an overview of the observation requirements, satellite, payload and general status of the PREMIER mission.

Antenna technologies from 435 MHz to 356 GHz for ESA's candidate Earth Explorer satellite missions

As a result of down-selection after Phase 0 for the 7th Earth Explorer mission following the User Consultation Meeting held in Lisbon, Portugal in Jan 2009, three candidate missions were selected for further feasibility investigations (Phase A) [1]. Each of the candidate missions is now being defined in detail through two parallel and competing industrial system studies and supporting complementary science and technology studies, aiming to the final down-selection in 2012, followed by the mission implementation with a planned launch in the 2017 timeframe. The microwave payloads of those candidate missions cover the frequency range from 435 MHz to 356 GHz. The BIOMASS candidate mission aims to measure the global forest biomass at P-band (435 MHz) using the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technique. Due to the long wavelength and large distance between the satellite and the Earth, a very large antenna aperture is required (50–100 m2). The CoReH2O candidate missions aims to quantitatively measure the global distribution of snow over land and sea ice at X-(9.6 GHz) and Ku-band (17.2 GHz) using the SAR technique. The PREMIER candidate mission, carrying an infrared limb sounder and a microwave limb sounder, the latter covering the frequency range of 313–356 GHz, aims to measure atmospheric composition in the upper Troposphere and lower Stratosphere. Three very distinct antenna technologies are required for enabling those satellite missions. This paper describes the different antenna concepts proposed and corresponding technology developments which are on-going.

ESA activities in preparation of future atmospheric composition sounding missions

The European Space Agency has currently a strong atmospheric chemistry component in its Earth observation programme. The GOME instrument operating onboard ERS-2 since 1995 will be followed by three innovative spectrometers on Envisat to be launched in 2000: GOMOS, MIPAS and SCIAMACHY, observing the atmosphere from the ground to the mesosphere at wavelengths between 240 nm and 14.6 /spl mu/m. Anticipating Envisat and foreign atmospheric chemistry missions being implemented, programmatic and scientific activities for potential future missions are pursued.

Envisat's contribution to atmospheric chemistry studies

After the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, concern about the evolution of the global ozone layer led to the development of various devices for measurement of atmospheric composition. Among them, three innovative instruments were decided to be embarked on ESAs Environmental Satellite (Envisat). Their purpose is to investigate chemical and physical processes and human impact on Earths atmosphere on a global scale, and to contribute to precise monitoring of the UV-shielding stratospheric ozone layer. The instruments are: GOMOS, MIPAS and SCIAMACHY.