EarthCARE

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EarthCARE
EarthCARE.png
Artist's view of EarthCARE
Mission type Earth observation
Operator ESA/JAXA/NICT
Website EarthCare on esa.int
Mission duration 2 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Bus AstroBus-L
Manufacturer EADS Astrium
Launch mass ~ 2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb)
Dimensions 2.5 by 19 metres (8.2 ft × 62.3 ft)
Power ~ 2500 watts
Start of mission
Launch date 2018[1]
Rocket Soyuz ST-B/Fregat-MT (planned)
Launch site Kourou ELS
Contractor Arianespace
Starsem
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Sun-synchronous
Perigee 393 kilometres (244 mi)
Apogee 393 kilometres (244 mi)
Inclination 97 degrees
Period 92 minutes
Repeat interval 25 days
Epoch Planned
Transponders
Band S Band (TT&C support)
X Band (science data acquisition)
Bandwidth 2 Mbit/s download (S Band)
150 Mbit/s download (X Band)
64kbit/s upload (S Band)
Instruments
ATLID: ATmospheric LIDar
CPR: Cloud Profiling Radar
MSI: Multi-Spectral Imager
BBR: BroadBand Radiometer
File:Earthcare.jpg
Living Planet Programme

EarthCARE is a planned joint European/Japanese (ESA/JAXA/NICT) satellite, the sixth of ESA's Living Planet Programme. The main goal of the mission is the observation and characterization of clouds and aerosols as well as measuring the reflected solar radiation and the infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface.[2][3]

History

In May 2008 ESA signed a contract worth €263 million (£220 million/$360 million) with EADS subsidiary Astrium. As the prime contractor, Astrium is responsible for the satellite's design, development and integration.[4] Design and construction began in early 2009 while launch is due for 2016.[5] EarthCARE is an acronym standing for Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer, and the aims of the mission are to improve understanding of the cloud, radiative and aerosol processes that affect the Earth's climate.[6] As of January 2011, the total budget for the project is £500 million (€590 million/$810 million).[5] A significant proportion of the project will be manufactured in the UK, the main structure of the spacecraft will be built by RUAG Space in Switzerland and subsequently completed in Astrium's Stevenage facility, while one of the instruments will be made in Sevenoaks by SSTL and another in Bristol, Somerset by SEA Group Ltd, now part of Thales Alenia Space UK.[5] In September 2014 ESA and JAXA made joined EarthCARE International Science Workshop.[7] From 2014 to 2015 an ongoing integration of the instruments takes place.[7] In 2015 launch was postponed to 2018 due to problems with Lidar development.[1]

Science

The satellite will make measurements useful for better understanding the Earth's thermal and solar radiation balance. In particular, a combination of active (lidar and radar) and passive (radiometers and imagers) instruments will enable EarthCARE to simultaneously measure the vertical and horizontal distribution of clouds and atmospheric aerosols along with Top-Of-Atmosphere (TOA) Long- and Short-wave fluxes.

The spacecraft will feature four distinct instruments:

  • Backscatter Lidar (ATLID) - ESA High-spectral resolution and depolarisation
  • Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) - JAXA/NICT -36 dBZ sensitivity, 500 m vertical resolution, Doppler
  • Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) - ESA 7 channels, 150 km swath, 500 m pixel
  • Broadband Radiometer (BBR) - ESA 2 channels, 3 views (nadir, fore and aft). A broadband Radiometer.

See also

External links

References

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