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Current Missions
117 different Earth observation satellite
missions of CEOS agencies are estimated to
be currently operating (late 2013). 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 series),
India (IMD INSAT series), China (CMA FY
series), Russia (Roshydromet GOMS/Elektro-L
series), and (from June 2010) 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)
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 first of the EUMETSAT
Polar System satellites, MetOp-A, 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
serves 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
(2001) 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 is
currently under development, planned for
launch in 2015.
ERS and Envisat series
ERS-1 was launched by ESA in July 1991
(complete 2000), ERS-2 in April 1995
(complete 2011), and Envisat in March 2002
(complete April 2012). This series
concentrates on global and regional
environmental issues, making use of active
microwave techniques that enable a range of
measurements to be made of land, sea and ice
surfaces, independent of cloud cover and
atmospheric conditions. In addition, the
ATSR/AATSR instruments on these missions
provided images of the surface or cloud top
and the GOME instrument on ERS-2 provided
measurements of ozone levels. ERS-1 and
ERS-2 operated in tandem for around 1 year
in 1995 and 1996, providing data for
topographic applications such as
differential interferometry. Envisat has
been at the forefront of European Earth
science endeavours for a decade, monitoring
the land, the oceans, Earth's ice cover and
its atmosphere.
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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-2A (2008), RISAT-2
(2009), Oceansat-2 (2009), Cartosat-2B
(2010), Resourcesat-2 (2011), and joint with
CNES, Megha-Tropiques (2011). The Indian
segment was augmented with the launch of
RISAT-1 and SARAL during 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.
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.
CBERS series
A joint mission series of China and Brazil,
aimed at environmental monitoring and Earth
resources. The latest in the series
(CBERS-3) is planned for launch in December
2013.
Kompsat series
Korean missions aimed at cartography, land
use and planning and ocean and disaster
monitoring – Kompsat-1 was launched in 1999,
Kompsat-2 has been in operation since 2006,
with Kompsat-3 launched in 2012, Kompsat-5
launched in August 2013 and Kompsat-3A
planned in 2014.
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 and
SORCE 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
will join 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 (2003-10) and ESA’s CryoSat-2
(2009). NASA is planning to launch ICESat-II
in 2016.
Gravity and magnetic-field studies
The GRACE (from 2002) and GOCE (from 2009)
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 (2004-10), Kanopus-Vulkan and
Vulkan-Kompas-2. A GRACE follow-on mission
is planned for 2017, and a GRACE-II mission
is also being considered. ESA’s Swarm
constellation, to be launched Nov 2013, aims
to provide the best-ever survey of the
geomagnetic field and its temporal
evolution, and gain new insights into
improving our knowledge of Earth’s interior
and climate.
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