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Earth Explorers
Earth Explorers
Candidate Earth Explorer Technical Annexes now available
 
31 March 2004
Following the release of the Candidate Earth Explorer Mission Reports last week the Technical Annexes for each mission are now available and downloadable from this website.
 
The release of the Earth Explorer Technical Annexes is in connection with the Earth Explorer User Consultation meeting which will be held on 19-20 April at ESA's ESRIN facility in Frascati, Italy. After the meeting it will be decided which of the six Earth Explorer missions will be selected for development.

The Technical Annexes for each mission are available below (the Scientific Evaluation Reports are also available via the right-hand bar).  
 
EarthCare (Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer)
EarthCare is a joint European-Japanese mission that aims to measure clouds and aerosols and the geophysical parameters associated with them in order to minimise climate prediction uncertainty.
EarthCARE Technical Annex (pdf)
 
 
SPECTRA (Surface Processes and Ecosystem Changes Through Response Analysis)
The objective of SPECTRA is to describe, understand and model the role of terrestrial vegetation in the global carbon cycle and its response to climate variability under the increasing pressure of human activity.
SPECTRA Technical Annex (pdf)
 
 
WALES (Water vApour and Lidar Experiment in Space)
The objective of the WALES mission is to provide independent global water vapour profiles, covering the entire troposphere in clear and partially cloudy regions, with unprecedented accuracy and vertical resolution in support of climate research and numerical weather prediction applications and as a reference for other satellite sensors.
WALES Technical Annex (pdf)
 
 
ACE+ (Atmosphere and Climate Explorer)
ACE+ aims to establish highly accurate and vertically resolved climatologies of humidity in the troposphere and of temperature in both the free troposphere and the stratosphere to validate and improve atmospheric models in support of climate research and numerical weather prediction.
ACE+ Technical Annex (pdf)
 
 
EGPM (European contribution to the Global Precipitation Monitoring (GPM) mission)
EGPM is part of the bigger International GPM mission, which aims to measure precipitation all over the world every three hours. EGPM has its own unique objectives to measure light precipitation and snowfall.
EGPM Technical Annex (pdf)
 
 
Swarm (a constellation of small satellites to study the dynamics of the Earth’s magnetic field)
Swarm will provide the best ever survey of the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution, offering new insights into the composition and processes in the interior and the surroundings of the Earth, thereby improving our knowledge of the Earth’s interior and climate.
SWARM Technical Annex (pdf)
 
 

 
 
Related documentation
Introducing the ESA Living Planet Programme: ESA Stragegy for Earth Observation (1999)
SP-1234
Earth Explorers: The Science and Research Elements of ESA's Living Planet Programme (1998)
SP-1227
Candidate Earth Explorer Mission Reports and Technical Annexes
EarthCARE Report for Selection (2004)
SP-1279/1
EarthCARE Technical Annex (2004)
SP-1279/1
SPECTRA Mission ReportSPECTRA Technical AnnexWALES Mission ReportWALES Technical AnnexACE+ Mission ReportACE+ Technical AnnexEGPM Mission ReportEGPM Technical AnnexSwarm Mission ReportSwarm Technical Annex
Related links
SwarmEarthCARE
Related links
Earth Explorer User Consultation MeetingCandidate Earth Explorer mission reports now availableLiving PlanetEarth ExplorersFuture MissionsEarthCARESPECTRAWALESACE+EGPMSwarm
 
 
 
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