Greenlight to HydroGNSS, ESA’s second Scout mission
2021-04-07 11:30:00
IEEC researchers in the Earth Observation Group of the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC) participate in the mission
Led by the company Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., HydroGNSS will measure key hydrological climate variables
A group of researchers from the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) at the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC) participate in the mission HydroGNSS, the second Scout mission of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Following the selection of the first Scout satellite mission last December, ESA has now approved the negotiations for the development of a second mission. These missions are a new element in the ESA’s FutureEO programmes of Earth Observation, and seek to demonstrate the capability of small satellites to deliver value-added science.
HydroGNSS will provide measurements of key hydrological climate variables including soil moisture, freeze–thaw state over permafrost, inundation and wetlands, and above-ground biomass. These variables help scientists understand climate change and contribute towards weather modelling, ecology mapping, agricultural planning and flood preparedness. The mission is led by the British company Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL).
In order to obtain these measurements, scientists will use a technique called “Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflectometry”. IEEC researchers in the Earth Observation Group at ICE have more than 20 years of experience in this technique, and are involved in HydroGNSS as part of the mission consortium.
“This mission presents several novelties with respect to other reflectometry missions”, explains Dr. Estel Cardellach, IEEC researcher at ICE and member of the consortium. “For the first time, the signals will be received at two polarizations, and large amounts of data at high sampling rate will be acquired in a nearly continuous mode to enable new science and improved products”, she adds.
HydroGNSS Smallsat Mission
ESA Scout missions aim to demonstrate how small satellites on a budget of less than €30 million and a three-year schedule can play an important role in Earth Observation, and be scaled up for future missions. Scalability is an important aspect of this mission, as pointed out by Dr. Weiqiang Li, IEEC research and team member of the Earth Observation Group at ICE: “The concept behind HydroGNSS is scalable to larger constellations of satellites, which would represent an effective and sustainable way to densify these ECV measurements”.
The mission consortium also includes teams from La Sapienza University, Tor Vergata University and the Istituto di Fisica Applicata (IFAC-CNR) in Italy, the Finish Meteorological Institute (FMI) in Finland, the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.
HydroGNSS paves the way for an affordable future constellation that can offer measurements with a temporal-spatial resolution not accessible to traditional remote sensing satellites, thus offering new capacity to monitor very dynamic phenomena and helping to fill the gaps in our monitoring of the Earth’s vital signs for the future.
Links
– IEEC
– ICE
– ESA
– SSTL
More information
The Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) promotes and coordinates space research and technology development in Catalonia for the benefit of society. IEEC fosters collaborations both locally and worldwide and is an efficient agent of knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. As a result of 25 years of high-quality research, done in collaboration with major international organisations, IEEC ranks among the best international research centers, focusing on areas such as: astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, and Earth Observation. IEEC’s engineering division develops instrumentation for ground- and space-based projects, and has extensive experience in working with private or public organisations from the aerospace and other innovation sectors.
IEEC is a private non-profit foundation, governed by a Board of Trustees composed of Generalitat de Catalunya and four other institutions that each have a research unit, which together constitute the core of IEEC R&D activity: the University of Barcelona (UB) with the research unit ICCUB — Institute of Cosmos Sciences; the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) with the research unit CERES — Center of Space Studies and Research; the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) with the research unit CTE — Research Group in Space Sciences and Technologies; the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) with the research unit ICE — Institute of Space Sciences. IEEC is a CERCA (Centres de Recerca de Catalunya) center.
Image
PR_Image1.png
Caption: Artist's impression of HydroGNSS satellite in orbit.
Credits: Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL)
Contacts
IEEC Communication Office
Barcelona, Spain
Ana Montaner and Rosa Rodríguez
E-mail: comunicacio@ieec.cat
Lead Researcher
Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC)
Institute of Space Sciences (ICE)
Barcelona, Spain
Estel Cardellach
E-mail: estel@ice.csic.es; estel@ieec.cat
Led by the company Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., HydroGNSS will measure key hydrological climate variables
A group of researchers from the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) at the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC) participate in the mission HydroGNSS, the second Scout mission of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Following the selection of the first Scout satellite mission last December, ESA has now approved the negotiations for the development of a second mission. These missions are a new element in the ESA’s FutureEO programmes of Earth Observation, and seek to demonstrate the capability of small satellites to deliver value-added science.
HydroGNSS will provide measurements of key hydrological climate variables including soil moisture, freeze–thaw state over permafrost, inundation and wetlands, and above-ground biomass. These variables help scientists understand climate change and contribute towards weather modelling, ecology mapping, agricultural planning and flood preparedness. The mission is led by the British company Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL).
In order to obtain these measurements, scientists will use a technique called “Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflectometry”. IEEC researchers in the Earth Observation Group at ICE have more than 20 years of experience in this technique, and are involved in HydroGNSS as part of the mission consortium.
“This mission presents several novelties with respect to other reflectometry missions”, explains Dr. Estel Cardellach, IEEC researcher at ICE and member of the consortium. “For the first time, the signals will be received at two polarizations, and large amounts of data at high sampling rate will be acquired in a nearly continuous mode to enable new science and improved products”, she adds.
HydroGNSS Smallsat Mission
ESA Scout missions aim to demonstrate how small satellites on a budget of less than €30 million and a three-year schedule can play an important role in Earth Observation, and be scaled up for future missions. Scalability is an important aspect of this mission, as pointed out by Dr. Weiqiang Li, IEEC research and team member of the Earth Observation Group at ICE: “The concept behind HydroGNSS is scalable to larger constellations of satellites, which would represent an effective and sustainable way to densify these ECV measurements”.
The mission consortium also includes teams from La Sapienza University, Tor Vergata University and the Istituto di Fisica Applicata (IFAC-CNR) in Italy, the Finish Meteorological Institute (FMI) in Finland, the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.
HydroGNSS paves the way for an affordable future constellation that can offer measurements with a temporal-spatial resolution not accessible to traditional remote sensing satellites, thus offering new capacity to monitor very dynamic phenomena and helping to fill the gaps in our monitoring of the Earth’s vital signs for the future.
Links
– IEEC
– ICE
– ESA
– SSTL
More information
The Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) promotes and coordinates space research and technology development in Catalonia for the benefit of society. IEEC fosters collaborations both locally and worldwide and is an efficient agent of knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. As a result of 25 years of high-quality research, done in collaboration with major international organisations, IEEC ranks among the best international research centers, focusing on areas such as: astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, and Earth Observation. IEEC’s engineering division develops instrumentation for ground- and space-based projects, and has extensive experience in working with private or public organisations from the aerospace and other innovation sectors.
IEEC is a private non-profit foundation, governed by a Board of Trustees composed of Generalitat de Catalunya and four other institutions that each have a research unit, which together constitute the core of IEEC R&D activity: the University of Barcelona (UB) with the research unit ICCUB — Institute of Cosmos Sciences; the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) with the research unit CERES — Center of Space Studies and Research; the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) with the research unit CTE — Research Group in Space Sciences and Technologies; the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) with the research unit ICE — Institute of Space Sciences. IEEC is a CERCA (Centres de Recerca de Catalunya) center.
Image
PR_Image1.png
Caption: Artist's impression of HydroGNSS satellite in orbit.
Credits: Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL)
Contacts
IEEC Communication Office
Barcelona, Spain
Ana Montaner and Rosa Rodríguez
E-mail: comunicacio@ieec.cat
Lead Researcher
Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC)
Institute of Space Sciences (ICE)
Barcelona, Spain
Estel Cardellach
E-mail: estel@ice.csic.es; estel@ieec.cat