PARIS -- ESA has selected three new ideas to compete for the 10th Earth Explorer Mission. The decision follows the release of a call for ideas in September 2017. ESA received 21 proposals.
ESA's Advisory Committee for Earth Observation (ACEO) recommended that three mission ideas should be selected for feasibility study - Stereoid, Daedalus and G-Class - and ESA's Program Board for Earth Observation accepted the committee's recommendation on September 21. ESA foresees launching the mission between 2027 and 2028.
Stereoid would orbit in formation with one of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites. Carrying a synthetic aperture radar, it aims to measure small shifts in the ocean surface, in glaciers and in Earth’s surface. This would improve our understanding of small-scale ocean circulation patterns, advance knowledge of glacial dynamics and their contribution to sea-level rise, and measure changes in land-surface topography.
Daedalus would carry a suite of instruments to provide measurements in a largely unexplored area between the Earth’s upper atmosphere and space. Here, intriguing and complex processes govern the deposition, transformation and transport of some of the Sun and solar wind’s energy. The aim is to quantify amounts of energy deposited in the upper atmosphere by measuring, for example, effects caused by the electrodynamic processes in this region. The concept is based on a mother satellite, which carries a suite of instruments along with four small satellites carrying a subset of instruments that are released into the atmosphere.
G-Class would carry a synthetic aperture radar and would be rather uniquely placed in a geosynchronous orbit to provide a constant view of Africa and the Mediterranean regions. The mission aims to make observations of diurnal water cycle processes to improve the prediction capability for rainfall, water availability, flooding and landslides.
Earth Explorer satellites will continue to be delivered under ESA's Living Planet Program. After years of delays, the ADM-Aeolus mission launched in 2018 and EarthCARE mission will launch in 2019.
Satellite deliveries under the Living Planet Program are expected to remain steady, despite previous delays with the ADM-Aeolus and EarthCARE missions. ESA is taking steps to avoid delays with the program's future missions. For example, instruments for the FLEX will be developed before the satellite platform so that potential problems can be addressed earlier in the process. Satellites will be a mix of the more expensive Earth Explorer Core spacecraft and mid-cost Earth Explorer Opportunity spacecraft.
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