ESA · Space

ESA Advances Three Earth Explorer Mission Candidates

The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected three mission candidates – ECO, Keystone, and CryoRad – to advance to the next preparatory phase for its twelfth Earth Explorer satellite mission. This decision marks a significant step in understanding Earth's processes and environmental challenges.

The three concepts were chosen based on scientific relevance and programmatic considerations, following a user consultation and advice from ESA's Advisory Committee for Earth Observation (ACEO).

The ECO mission aims to target the Earth Energy Imbalance (EEI), a key climate variable, to quantify climate change and assess mitigation effectiveness. This challenging mission concept will be further investigated.

Keystone would provide the first global direct observations of atomic oxygen and related atmospheric constituents in the 50-250 km altitude range, addressing knowledge gaps in this underexplored atmospheric region. It could also detect space debris entering the atmosphere.

CryoRad's objectives include directly measuring temperatures and basal conditions within polar ice sheets to improve understanding of ice-sheet dynamics and future sea-level rise assessments.

All four initial concepts underwent extensive study, demonstrating scientific ambition and potential for new insights into Earth's processes. ECO, Keystone, and CryoRad will now proceed to further development.

One of these three missions will be selected for implementation as Earth Explorer 12, with a projected launch around 2036. ESA's Earth Explorer missions are known for delivering breakthrough scientific findings and open data.

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