The Living Planet Programme (LPP)[1] is a programme within the European Space Agency which is managed by the Earth Observation Programmes Directorate. LPP consists of two classes of Earth observation missions (listed below) including research missions known as Earth Explorers, and the Earth Watch class of missions whose objective is to develop support operational applications such as numerical weather forecasting or resource management.

List of Earth Explorers missions

Selected missions

Currently there are ten approved Earth Explorer missions, four (SMOS, CryoSat-2, SWARM, Aeolus) of which are in orbit and operating:

  • GOCE – Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer; it was launched on 17 March 2009.[2] It reentered the atmosphere on 11 November 2013.
  • SMOS – Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite[3][4] will study ocean salinity and soil moisture; it was launched on 2 November 2009.[5]
  • CryoSat – a program designed to map the Earth's ice cover.
    • CryoSat-1 was lost in 2005 when the Russian SS-19 Rockot launch vehicle malfunctioned and was terminated.
    • CryoSat-2 was launched on 8 April 2010.
  • Swarm – a trio of satellites to map the Earth's magnetic field.[6] The SWARM constellation was launched successfully on 22 November 2013.[7]
  • Aeolus – the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission Aeolus uses an innovative laser to measure global winds. Aeolus was successfully launched on 22 August 2018.[8][9]

Approved, but yet to launch :

  • EarthCARE – Earth Clouds Aerosols and Radiation Explorer will examine the formation and effects of clouds.[10][11] Due to launch in May 2024.[12]
  • BIOMASS – designed to calculate the amount of carbon stored in the world's forests, and to monitor for any changes over the course of its five-year mission.[13][14][15] Due to launch in 2024.[16]
  • FLEX – the FLuorescence EXplorer mission will globally monitor steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence in terrestrial vegetation.[17] It is currently scheduled to launch in 2025.[18]
  • FORUM – Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring; a mission to measure Earth's outgoing radiation emissions across the entire far-infrared electromagnetic spectrum, in order to gain insight into water vapour and cirrus cloud regulation of the planet's surface temperature. It is currently projected to launch in 2027.[19][20]
  • Harmony (formerly known as Stereoid) – a pair of synthetic aperture radar satellites that aims to further the study of ocean circulation patterns, glacial dynamics, and changes in land-surface topography.[21] It is currently projected to launch in 2029.[22]

Earth Explorer 11 Candidates

The competition for the Earth Explorer 11 mission began on 10 June 2021. A call for proposal ideas was released on 25 May 2020, with the deadline for submission on 4 December 2020.[23] Four candidates were chosen to compete for the opportunity:[24]

  • Cairt (Changing-Atmosphere Infra-Red Tomography Explorer) – a mission to observe atmospheric chemistry and dynamics in the altitude range of 5 to 120 km, in order to better understand the relationship between climate change and atmospheric circulation.
  • Nitrosat – a mission to precisely measure nitrogen dioxide and ammonia levels in the atmosphere, which is essential to understanding the role of nitrogen compounds in aerosol pollution.
  • Wivern (Wind Velocity Radar Nephoscope) – a mission to measure cloud wind velocity, rain, snow, and ice water via a Doppler weather radar nephoscope, in order to improve weather forecast models.
  • Seastar – a mission to study sub-mesoscale meteorological dynamics by providing 1 km resolution ocean surface current and wind vectors for coast, shelf, and polar ice zones.

Cairt and Wivern have been selected as the final two competing entries. The winning candidate will be chosen in 2025 with a projected launch date in 2032 or 2033.[25]

Non-selected missions

Past candidate missions that were not selected include:

  • CoReH2O – a mission to study key characteristics in terrestrial snow, ice, and water cycles and their relations to climate change and variability.[26] Competed with BIOMASS and PREMIER for the Earth Explorer 7 mission opportunity.
  • PREMIER – a mission to study atmospheric processes related to trace gas, radiation, and chemical compositions in the mid to upper troposphere and lower stratosphere in order to understand their role on climate change.[27] Competed with BIOMASS and CoReH2O for the Earth Explorer 7 mission opportunity.
  • CarbonSat – a mission to determine the global distributions of carbon dioxide and methane and their impact on climate change.[28] Competed with FLEX for the Earth Explorer 8 mission opportunity.
  • SKIM – a mission to measure ocean-surface currents using the Doppler technique, in order to improve understanding of the ocean current dynamics behind the hydrological and geochemical cycles.[29][30] Competed with FORUM for the Earth Explorer 9 mission opportunity.
  • Daedalus – a mission to study the electrodynamic processes of the Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere. Competed with Harmony for the Earth Explorer 10 mission opportunity.[21][31]
  • Hydroterra (formerly known as G-Class) – a geosynchronous synthetic aperture radar satellite that aims to observe diurnal water cycle processes, in order to improve weather prediction capabilities. Competed with Harmony for the Earth Explorer 10 mission opportunity.[21][31]

References

  1. ↑ ESA's Living Planet Programme European Space Agency
  2. ↑ GOCE site, ESA, retrieved 30 January 2016
  3. ↑ "ESA's water mission SMOS". ESA. 6 November 2013. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. ↑ Drinkwater, Mark; Kerr, Yann; Font, Jordi; Berger, Michael (February 2009). "Exploring the Water Cycle of the 'Blue Planet': The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission" (PDF). ESA Bulletin. European Space Agency (137): 6–15.
  5. ↑ Amos, Jonathan (2 November 2009). "European water mission lifts off". BBC News. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Eurockot to launch two ESA Earth observation missions". ESA. 9 April 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  7. ↑ "Esa's satellite Swarm launch to map Earth's magnetism". BBC News. 22 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Aeolus – ESA Future Missions". ESA. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  9. ↑ de Selding, Peter B. (22 May 2015). "Cost, Schedule Woes on 2 Lidar Missions Push ESA To Change Contract Procedures". SpaceNews. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "ESA signs EUR 263m earth monitoring satellite contract". Environment Expert. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "EarthCARE – Earth Online – ESA". ESA. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  12. ↑ "Gearing up for EarthCARE". ESA. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  13. ↑ "Biomass". ESA. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  14. ↑ "Biomass – ESA Future Missions". ESA. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  15. ↑ Amos, Jonathan (8 May 2013). "Esa approves Biomass satellite to monitor Earth's forests". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Bye-Bye Biomass: forest monitoring satellite departs for final testing before launch". Airbus. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  17. ↑ de Selding, Peter B. (25 September 2015). "Panel Endorses Vegetation Fluorescence Mapper for ESA's Earth Explorer Program". SpaceNews. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "Arianespace to launch with Vega C FLEX & ALTIUS, two ESA programmes at the service of environment". Arianespace (Press release). 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  19. ↑ "Contract secures design for ESA's FORUM satellite". ESA. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  20. ↑ Status of the Current and Future ESA Earth Observation Missions and Programmes. CGMS-49. ESA. 14 May 2021. pp. 33–37. Retrieved 27 August 2021 – via the Internet Archive.
  21. 1 2 3 "ESA moves forward with Harmony". ESA. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  22. ↑ "ESA selects Harmony as tenth Earth Explorer mission". ESA. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  23. ↑ "Calling for ideas for next Earth Explorer". ESA. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  24. ↑ "Four mission ideas to compete for Earth Explorer 11". ESA. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  25. ↑ "Cairt and Wivern Earth Explorer candidates go forward". ESA. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  26. ↑ "CoReH2O – Report for Mission Selection – An Earth Explorer to observe snow and ice". ESA. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  27. ↑ "PREMIER – Report for Mission Selection – An Earth Explorer to observe atmospheric composition". ESA. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  28. ↑ "Reports on Earth Explorer Candidates CarbonSat and FLEX Now Available". ESA. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  29. ↑ "Two new Earth Explorer concepts to understand our rapidly changing world". ESA. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  30. ↑ "Save the date: Earth Explorer 9 User Consultation Meeting". ESA. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  31. 1 2 "Three Earth Explorer ideas selected". ESA. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2019.

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