Citation for Next Generation Gravity Mission Mission Requirements Document

Title
Next Generation Gravity Mission Mission Requirements Document

Summary
The Next Generation Gravity Mission (NGGM) is a Mission of Opportunity as part of ESA’s FutureEO programme.

NGGM will extend and improve time series of satellite gravity missions by providing enhanced spatial and temporal resolution time-varying gravity field measurements with improved performance and latency. The mission addresses international user needs as expressed by IUGG and GCOS and demonstrates operational capabilities relevant for Copernicus. The NGGM Mission Requirement Document (MRD) defines unambiguous requirements for NGGM, traceable to the joint ESA/NASA MAss Change and Geosciences International Constellation (MAGIC) MRD (c.f. MAGIC MRD), and provides recommendations for MAGIC. MAGIC will combine the NASA/DLR GRACE-C (former Mass Change) mission as a first pair of satellites in a near-polar orbit, complemented by the ESA NGGM mission as a second pair of satellites in an inclined controlled orbit (Bender constellation), to deliver significantly improved time-space sampling and constellation performance to demonstrate the benefits of operational gravimetry.

The NGGM MRD v1.0 was issued in September 2023 at the end of NGGM Phase A. Further revisions are expected in the upcoming phases of development.

Citation
Daras, I. (Ed), 2023, Next Generation Gravity Mission (NGGM) Mission Requirements Document, Issue 1.0, Earth and Mission Science Division, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/ESA.NGGM-MRD.2023-09-v1.0

Download: Next Generation Gravity Mission Mission Requirements Document