As part of ESA's continuing commitment to realise cutting-edge satellite missions to advance scientific understanding of our planet and to show how new technologies can be used in space, three new ideas have been chosen to compete as the tenth Earth Explorer mission.

The decision follows the release of a call for ideas in September 2017. Out of the 21 proposals submitted, ESA's Advisory Committee for Earth Observation (ACEO) recommended that three mission ideas should be selected for feasibility study: Stereoid, Daedalus and G-Class.

Today, ESA's Programme Board for Earth Observation accepted the committee's recommendation.

Traditionally, Earth Explorer missions are built in response to the needs of the scientific community in their quest to understand different aspects of the Earth system and the interactions that bind the system as a whole.

The main purpose of an Earth Explorer is to advance science and technology, and to address questions that have a direct bearing on societal issues that humankind will face in the coming decades such as the availability of food, water, energy and resources, public health and climate change.

Martin Visbeck, Chair of ACEO, said, "It was a difficult decision as many of the ideas proposed were of a high standard with high scientific value. But after much deliberation, I am extremely excited by these three Earth Explorer 10 candidates.

"While each addresses different scientific challenges, they could all advance science significantly and benefit society."

Josef Aschbacher, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes, added, "The three ideas are all technologically innovative and have great potential. We look forward to seeing how these concepts develop during the next phase."

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.

Feasibility studies will now start, after which a further selection will be made, with a view to launching of the successful mission in 2027-28.

Related Links
Observing the Earth at ESA
Earth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Scientists ID Three Causes of Earth's Spin Axis Drift
Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 21, 2018
A typical desk globe is designed to be a geometric sphere and to rotate smoothly when you spin it. Our actual planet is far less perfect - in both shape and in rotation. Earth is not a perfect sphere. When it rotates on its spin axis - an imaginary line that passes through the North and South Poles - it drifts and wobbles. These spin-axis movements are scientifically referred to as "polar motion." Measurements for the 20th century show that the spin axis drifted about 4 inches (10 centimeters) per ... read more