|  | ERS-2 SAR image of flooding in the Netherlands | |
About Earth Watch
The Earth Watch missions are the operational service driven missions in ESA’s dual mission strategy that includes also the Earth Explorer missions.
Driven by operational user communities Earth Watch missions are implemented with partners that will eventually take responsibility for service continuity. Essential to Earth Watch is the concept of guaranteed provision of services in the long-term which implies sustainability outside ESA research budgets.
In addition to the traditional areas of operational meteorology, Earth Watch missions target applications in areas of high strategic interest and economic value such as: agriculture, forestry, geology and exploration, environment monitoring, risk management, marine and coastal, cartography, utilities and planning, security.
Central to the Earth Watch is the initiative for Global Monitoring for Environment and Security, GMES. A dedicated element is included in the Earth Watch programme for the development and provision of GMES Services.
| | Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) | |
The first operational missions
The first ESA Earth observation satellite, Meteosat-1, launched in 1977, was to implement an operational Earth Watch type mission, the provision of operational meteorological services from geostationary orbit. Six more satellites of the Meteosat series were launched until 1997 accumulating decades of uninterrupted operation from the nominal vantage point on the equator at 0o longitude and east- and westwards. In 1998 operations were handed over to Eumetsat.
To replace the Meteosat series, ESA is building for Eumetsat three satellites of the Meteosat Second Generation, MSG, will start with the launch of MSG-1 in 2002. A fourth MSG satellite is being considered.
ESA is also developing the MetOp satellites for the Eumetsat Polar System that will provide operational meteorological observations from polar orbit from the launch of MetOp-1 in 2005.
Operational Earth observation missions were developed also nationally, Radarsat by Canada, or on multi-lateral basis, SPOT by France, Belgium and Sweden.
The science, technology and applications developed for and with ERS and ENVISAT, will generate new Earth Watch missions.
The planned Earth Watch missions (near-term)
Earth Watch mission concepts are derived from user requirements. Several candidate missions have been identified which could be implemented according to maturity and need date, in three main slices: near-term, mid-term and longer-term.
| | TerraSAR | |
TerraSAR
An initiative of European industry to deliver geoinformation services based on synergetic observations with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) operating in L- and X- band. The mission could be proposed for full implementation following initial consolidation under the Earth Watch programme, to start operation in 2007.
| | Fuegosat | |
Fuegosat
It is proposed to deploy in 2005 a demonstration satellite of a future satellite constellation Fuego devoted to forest fires detection and monitoring. The Fuego initiative has been pursued by a group of European companies in the frame of EC and ESA activities.
Radarsat
Invited by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), ESA member states can participate in the Canadian Radarsat-2 and Radarsat-3, via the ESA Earth Watch programme. Continuity in the provision of C-band data initiated in 1991 with ERS-1 will be guaranteed.
Cosmo-Skymed
Invited by the Italian Space Agency, ASI, ESA member states can participate in the ASI led programme. COSMO-Skymed is based on a constellation of four satellites with X-band SAR instruments.
The planned ESA Earth Watch missions (medium-term)
Ocean Earth Watch, to be implemented with Eumetsat, this mission will provide from 2007 onwards, continuity to observations provided by ERS-1, ERS-2 and ENVISAT, such as altimetry, ocean colour and sea-surface temperature.
The payload could also provide observations for global monitoring of the land cover and vegetation at medium resolution following the missions of MERIS on ENVISAT and VEGETATION on SPOT.
The Ocean Earth Watch and the follow-on to the Jason will fly at the same time and thus ensure continuation of altimetry from high and medium inclination orbits as provided since the early nineties by ERS – Topex Poseidon first and ENVISAT – Jason afterwards.
Land Optical Earth Watch, mission concepts are being studied based on systems with a range of spatial resolutions and spectral contents, from the low end of the visible part of the spectrum to the short-wave infrared. Studies are based also on the large European heritage, starting with SPOT and its follow-on concepts and including other national and industrial initiatives. This mission line will fill the gap between the very high resolution optical systems as in the French Pleiades mission and the coarse resolution systems of ocean and meteorological systems. It is expected to propose a programme in 2004.
| | MetOp - polar orbiting weather satellite | |
The planned ESA Earth Watch mission (longer term)
Atmospheric Chemistry Monitoring Earth Watch
Operational atmospheric chemistry observations will be provided from the MetOp satellites from 2005 by the GOME-2 sensor based on the experience with GOME on ERS-2. ENVISAT with the suite of GOMOS, MIPAS and SCIAMACHY, and other missions, are expected to contribute to the establishment of operational systems for the monitoring of atmospheric chemistry.
Post-MSG and Post-EPS
ESA is supporting Eumetsat in the analysis of user requirements and of the potential of observation techniques for the follow-on systems to the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) and the Eumetsat Polar System with the MetOp satellites.
| | EGPM | |
EGPM - European contribution to Global Precipitation Measurement
Following the Earth Explorer User Consultation Meeting in April 2004, it was recommended that the Candidate Earth Explorer Opportunity Mission EGPM (European contribution to Global Precipitation Measurement) mission should be furthered within the Earth Watch framework. This mission aims to provide improved observations of light rain and snowfall and to contribute to the monitoring and understanding of storms that produce hazards such as flash floods. The overall Global Precipitation Measurement mission consists of a core platform equipped with microwave instruments and a number of smaller satellites to give repeat observation cycles of approximately three hours. One of these satellites will be EGPM flying in a Sun-synchronous near-polar orbit at 510 km altitude with two instruments on board, a microwave radiometer and a precipitation radar.
The implementation of Earth Watch missions
Earth Watch missions are implemented as dedicated elements within the Agency’s Earth Watch programme. Preparatory activities are implemented within the Development and Exploitation Component of the Earth Observation Envelope Programme (EOEP).
By housing under the EOEP the preparatory activities of Earth Explorer and Earth Watch missions, synergies are efficiently exploited, the transition from research to applications is facilitated and the use of operational data for research purposes is enabled.
Last update: 7 June 2004 | 
