ESA calls for Sentinel-1 Mission Advisory Group members
Within the framework of the GMES initiative, ESA is developing a series of 'Sentinel' satellites. As part of this development process, the Agency has released a call for Mission Advisory Group members for the Sentinel-1 mission.
Applications can be made via the following website: http://missionadvice.esa.int. Please note that the deadline for submission is 15 Ocober 2010 (12:00 CEST).
Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) has been established to fulfil the growing need amongst European policy-makers to access accurate and timely information services to better manage the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security.
Under the leadership of the European Commission, GMES relies largely on data from satellites observing Earth. Hence, ESA – in accordance with the European Space Policy – is developing and managing the Space Component for the initiative.
To ensure the operational provision of Earth-observation data, the Space Component includes the series of five Sentinels missions being developed by ESA specifically for GMES.
Sentinel-1 is a C-band imaging radar mission to provide all-weather, day and night imagery for the benefit of GMES services. It will provide information for monitoring of Arctic sea-ice extent, routine sea-ice mapping, surveillance of the marine environment including oil-spill monitoring, mapping of land for motion risks, forest, water and soil management and mapping in support of humanitarian aid.
The radar operates in four modes, with the interferometric wide-swath (IWS) mode envisaged as the main operating mode. The IWS mode has a swath width of 250 km and dual-polarisation capabilities, enabling global coverage about every two days at mid-latitudes when the two Sentinel-1 satellites are in orbit. The first satellite is scheduled for launch at the end of 2012.
In general, the role of the Mission Advisory Group is to provide technical advice to ESA during the development and implementation of the mission. For more information about the Mission Advisory Group application procedure please visit the website noted above which is also linked from the right-hand bar.
