Four mission ideas to compete for Earth Explorer 11

#ESA, #Earth Explorers

Gepubliceerd op 10 juni 2021

As part of ESA’s commitment to develop and build satellite missions that push the boundaries of satellite technology and Earth science, four new mission ideas – Cairt, Nitrosat, Seastar and Wivern – have been selected to enter pre-feasibility study and compete to be the eleventh Earth Explorer mission.

This important milestone follows a Call for Earth Explorer 11 mission ideas, which ESA released just over a year ago. Out of the 15 proposals submitted, ESA’s Advisory Committee for Earth Observation, ACEO, recommended that these four mission ideas should go forward for study.

Today, ESA’s Programme Board for Earth Observation accepted the Committee’s recommendation.

Our planet works as a complex system that involves considerable natural variability, but human activity is taking its toll on many of these natural processes. However, there remains much we don’t understand about the interactions that bind the Earth system as a whole.

Earth Explorers are built to demonstrate new space technology and provide answers to key scientific questions – not just for academic gain, but also to help address societal issues that humankind will face in the coming decades such as the availability of food, water, energy and resources, as well as health and climate change.

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