The battle for a place in space
TU Delft has provided two of the three proposals that are competing for the tenth Earth Explorer mission by ESA, which is planned for 2027-2028.
One of the proposals (G-CLASS) was submitted by Professor Ramon Hanssen, and the other (STEREOID) by Dr Paco Lopez-Dekker. They both work in the Satellite Radar Lab at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences. “It’s a knock-out race,” explains Hanssen. “Only one mission will be left standing.”
The Earth Explorer missions focus on Earth observation, one of the key objectives of the European Space Agency (ESA). The proposals include measuring movements of the sea surface, glaciers and the Earth's surface, and being better able to forecast the level of precipitation during violent storms.
In the autumn of 2020, it will be announced which two proposals will go on to the next phase. “Then our part will be over,” says Hanssen, “and industry will step in. We’ll get involved again once the mission has been launched and data are available.”
Mission: G-CLASS
Researcher: Prof. Ramon Hanssen (CEG)
Purpose: To continuously monitor a large area in Europe and Africa from a geosynchronous satellite (at an altitude of 36,000 km). Geosynchronous satellites take as long to orbit the Earth as it does for the Earth to rotate on its axis. The satellite emits pulses that reflect on the Earth's surface.” This will enable meteorologists to forecast more accurately the level of precipitation in violent storms and how floods will develop. It will also enable landslides to be predicted in real-time.
Mission: STEREOID
Researcher: Dr Paco Lopez-Dekker (CEG)
Purpose: To measure small shifts in the ocean surface, in glaciers and the earth's surface. This will improve our understanding of small-scale ocean circulation patterns, glacial dynamics and their contribution to sea-level rises, and 3D modelling of deformations caused by earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides. STEREOID involves an existing satellite that transmits pulses. Two radar satellites fly in a low orbit (it takes 100 minutes to orbit Earth) in a variable formation in front of or behind existing Sentinel-1 satellites.