Current Missions
143 different Earth observation satellite missions of CEOS agencies are estimated to be currently operating (late 2016). Many of these comprise series of missions planned to provide the continuity that is essential for many observations and applications. The principal satellite series are highlighted below.
Geostationary meteorological satellites
There is a worldwide network of operational geostationary meteorological satellites that provide visible and infrared images of Earth's surface and atmosphere. Countries/regions with current geostationary operational meteorological satellites are the USA (NOAA GOES series), Europe (EUMETSAT Meteosat series), Japan (JMA MTSAT & Himawari series), India (IMD INSAT series), China (CMA FY series), Russia (Roshydromet GOMS/Elektro-L series), and Korea (KMA COMS series).
Crustal motion and gravitational field series
A number of small satellite missions designed to measure Earth’s crustal motion and Earth’s gravitational field have been launched since 1967. The space segment typically comprises corner cube laser retroreflectors and the ground segment is a global network of transportable laser sites. The design life of the space segment is many thousands of years. These missions include the Diademe and Starlette series (CNES) and the Lageos series (NASA and ASI). More recently, missions such as GRACE (NASA/DLR) and GOCE (ESA, 2009-2013) have been launched to provide high-precision measurements of Earth’s gravitational field.
DMSP series
The long-term meteorological programme of the US Department of Defense – with the objective of collecting and disseminating worldwide atmospheric, oceanographic, solar–geophysical and cloud cover data on a daily basis.
NOAA & EUMETSAT polar orbiters
Until 2006, operational polar-orbiting meteorological satellites were provided only by NOAA – with two satellites maintained in polar orbit at any one time, one in a ‘morning’ orbit and one in an ‘afternoon’ orbit. The series provides a wide range of data of interest, including sea-surface temperature, cloud cover, data for land studies (notably the AVHRR sensor), temperature and humidity profiles, and ozone concentrations (AMSU and HIRS sensor packages). Since 2006, these have been supplemented by the EUMETSAT Polar System satellites, MetOp-A & -B, offering additional measurements such as high-resolution temperature and humidity profiles, wind speed over the oceans, ozone and measurements of trace gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. The launch of the Suomi NPP mission in 2011 is serving as a precursor to NOAA's planned JPSS missions.
TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason series
These satellites form a joint NASA/CNES precision radar altimetry mission to measure ocean topography and hence the speed and direction of ocean currents. The Jason-1 (2001-2013) mission, and its follow-on OSTM (Jason-2, 2008), developed by NASA/CNES and operated by NOAA/EUMETSAT, provide a core contribution to GOOS. The Jason-3 mission launched in January 2016.
Sentinel series
ESA has developed a new family of missions called Sentinels specifically for the operational needs of the European Copernicus programme. Each Sentinel mission is based on a constellation of two satellites to fulfil revisit and coverage requirements, providing robust datasets for Copernicus Services.
Sentinel-1 (from 2014) is a radar imaging mission for land and ocean services.
Sentinel-2 (from 2015) is a multispectral high-resolution imaging mission for land monitoring, imagery of vegetation, soil and water cover, inland waterways and coastal areas.
Sentinel-1 & -2 continue the high quality observations undertaken by the ERS series (1991-2011) and Envisat (2002-2012).
SPOT and Landsat series
The SPOT satellites (lead agency CNES), and the Landsat satellites (lead agency USGS) provide high-resolution imagery in a range of visible and infrared bands. They are used extensively for high-resolution land studies. Data from these satellites are supplemented by availability of very high-resolution imagery (up to 1 m) from various commercial satellites. SPOT 5, the last in the CNES SPOT series ended in 2015, and SPOT 6 and & 7 are commercially-operated.
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IRS series
The Indian IRS satellites include three thematic series addressing the areas of: land and water resources; cartography; and ocean & atmosphere (which include the Resourcesat, Cartosat and Oceansat missions) coordinated through unique institutional framework of the National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS). Their primary objectives are in support of agriculture, disaster management, land and water resource management, cartographic mapping and studies of ocean and atmosphere. The latest in the series are Cartosat-2B (2010), RISAT-1 (2012), Oceansat-2 (2009) and Resourcesat-2A (2016), and joint with CNES, Megha-Tropiques (2011) and SARAL (2012).
Meteor series
Roshydromet maintains these missions mainly for operational meteorological purposes. Other applications include experimental measurement of ozone and Earth radiation budget.
RADARSAT series
Launched in November of 1995, RADARSAT provided researchers and operational users with a range of SAR data products which are used for marine applications such as ship routing and ice forecasting as well as land applications such as resource management and geological mapping. RADARSAT-2 was launched in December 2007 to ensure data continuity, and the first in the three satellite RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) is scheduled for launch in 2018.
CBERS series
A joint mission series of China and Brazil, aimed at environmental monitoring and Earth resources. The latest in the series (CBERS-4) was launched in December 2014.
Kompsat series
Korean missions aimed at cartography, land use and planning and ocean and disaster monitoring – Kompsat-1 was launched in 1999 (ended 2008), Kompsat-2 has been in operation since 2006 (ended 2016), with Kompsat-3 launched in 2012, Kompsat-5 launched in August 2013 and Kompsat-3A in March 2015.
NASA’s EOS missions
Carrying the latest advanced sensors and each mission dedicated to investigation of particular Earth System issues – including the Terra, Aqua and Aura missions. NASA has also launched a number of missions aimed at developing understanding of the sun’s influence on our climate, and its variability – including the Acrimsat (1999-2013) and SORCE (2003) programmes.
Cloud properties and climate links
Since April 2006, a multiple satellite (NASA and CNES) constellation has been in place (comprising CloudSat, Aqua, Aura, Calipso and Parasol (Parasol ended in Oct 2013)) flying in orbital formation to gather data needed to evaluate and improve the way clouds are represented in global models, and to develop a more complete knowledge of their poorly understood role in climate change and the cloud-climate feedback. The constellation was joined by JAXA’s Global Change Observation Mission – Water in 2012, and NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 joined in 2014.
Polar ice-cap studies
Given the significance of information on changes in the continental ice sheets, two missions have been dedicated to their study: NASA’s ICESat (2003-2010) and ESA’s CryoSat-2 (2010). NASA is planning to launch ICESat-II in 2017.
Gravity and magnetic-field studies
The GRACE (from 2002) and GOCE (from 2009 to 2013) missions are dedicated to providing more precise measurements of the geoid, while various other missions have studied Earth’s electromagnetic field in the near past: Demeter (2004-2010), Kanopus-Vulkan and Vulkan-Kompas-2 (2005-2006). A GRACE follow-on mission is planned for 2017, and a GRACE-II mission is also being considered. ESA’s Swarm constellation, launched 2013, provides the best-ever survey of the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution, and gains new insights into improving our knowledge of Earth’s interior and climate.
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