Author Topic: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates  (Read 8994 times)

Offline bolun

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ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« on: 01/03/2012 01:53 pm »
ESA’s cloud, aerosol and radiation mission
 
EarthCARE will advance our understanding of the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back into space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface.

These observations are much-need to improve climate predictions and weather forecasts.

The mission will employ high-performance lidar and radar technology that has never been flown in space before.

This advanced technology will be used to make global observations of the vertical structure of clouds and aerosols at the same time as taking measurements of radiation.

EarthCARE will deliver unprecedented datasets to allow scientists to study the relationship of clouds, aerosols and radiation at accuracy levels that will significantly improve our understanding of these highly variable parameters.

EarthCARE – the largest and most complex Earth Explorer mission to date – is being developed as a joint venture between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA.

http://www.esa.int/esaLP/ASESMYNW9SC_LPearthcare_0.html

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ESA's web page

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/EarthCARE

JAXA´s web page

https://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/earthcare/

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« Last Edit: 03/12/2024 12:06 pm by bolun »

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #1 on: 05/31/2012 07:54 pm »
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM8BNZWD2H_index_0.html

From ESA Bulletin 150 (Page 83)

Quote
EARTHCARE

The project is entering Phase-C/D and activities are proceeding to plan, with organisation of the System CDR for later in 2012. The satellite configuration and system budgets remain stable with adequate margins. Avionics equipment EMs are being tested, and the setup of the spacecraft EFM is under way.

The CDR for the Broad Band Radiometer instrument was held. The ATLID EQM laser pump unit Manufacturing Readiness Review was held and the operation point of the laser head has been confirmed. Testing of the Engineering Confidence Model of the Multi-Spectra Imager VNS camera started, while the TIR camera assembly is nearing completion.

The Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) SM has been delivered and handed over to ESA. It is now available for fit checks to the spacecraft and the mechanical ground support equipment. The CPR EM is being assembled in Japan. The Overall Configuration and Interface Design Review of the ground segment has been completed in preparation for its CDR later this year.
« Last Edit: 07/01/2023 10:11 pm by zubenelgenubi »

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #2 on: 04/18/2013 08:59 pm »
« Last Edit: 07/01/2023 10:11 pm by zubenelgenubi »

Offline GWR64

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #3 on: 06/16/2022 06:31 pm »
Earthcare assembly is complete !

Quote
Unravelling the mysteries of clouds

13 June 2022

The role of aerosols and clouds - the great unknown of climate


Clouds and aerosols are still considered the great unknowns in understanding our climate. With the EarthCARE Earth observation satellite, Airbus has made the finishing touches to the crucial ‘key’ that will unlock the mysteries of clouds, helping make more accurate atmospheric models and climate forecasts.

The 2.3-tonne satellite is now being transported from the Airbus site in Friedrichshafen, Germany, to the European Space Agency's ESTEC technology centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. There it will be put through its paces until the middle of next year. Among other things, it will be subjected to the stresses and strains that occur during launch and the environmental conditions that await it in orbit. In other words, its space readiness will be extensively tested.

The science

Clouds play an important role in our climate because they regulate the amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth’s surface and the amount of energy that is reflected back into space. The more energy absorbed by the Earth, the warmer it gets. If less energy is absorbed, it becomes cooler.

However, the exact role that clouds and aerosols play in the climate system is still a big unknown in climate forecasts and in understanding the Earth's water cycle.

Clouds need aerosols to form. These micrometre-sized particles - smaller than a human hair - float in the air. Many are natural, like sea salt carried away by the oceans or dust particles from the Sahara. There are also human-produced aerosols. For example, combustion produces soot and sulphur dioxide, which comes mainly from power stations. Nitrogen oxides from car exhausts are another cause. The more aerosols in the air, the more clouds reflect because they are made up of more but smaller water droplets. When there are fewer aerosols, there are also fewer water droplets, which become larger and can then fall more easily as raindrops.

Larger clouds generally reflect more light and have a greater cooling effect. When clouds contain more water droplets, they become whiter and reflect more sunlight, which cools the Earth's surface.

Cloud height also matters. Higher clouds tend to be colder, so they give off less heat and keep it trapped in our atmosphere instead of radiating it out into space. Low clouds are warmer, emitting more heat. So this means that higher clouds tend to warm the Earth's surface and atmosphere. In addition, aerosols influence the life cycle of clouds and thus indirectly contribute to warming of the Earth, i.e. its radiation and energy budget. Measurement data on aerosols should now help to better understand these processes.

The satellite and its mission


EarthCARE will provide global profiles of clouds and aerosols together with measurements of solar radiation reflected from the planet and thermal radiation emitted by the Earth. To this end, the satellite carries two large instruments: a lidar called ATLID to measure the vertical profiles of aerosols and thin clouds, and a cloud profiling radar (CPR) to measure the vertical profiles of thick clouds and precipitation. The CPR is provided by the Japanese Space Agency JAXA.

ATLID, built by Airbus in Toulouse, France, operates in the ultraviolet spectrum at a wavelength of 355 nm and uses the Doppler effect to provide vertical profiles from around 100 metres above the ground to a maximum height of 20 kilometres, or from 500 metres to a maximum height of 20 to 40 kilometres. The measuring principle makes use of the fact that an emitted light signal is scattered differently by molecules or aerosol particles as it passes through the atmosphere. ATLID is the second European lidar in orbit - Airbus is already globally renowned as a specialist in space-based lidar systems through the Aeolus satellite (in space since August 2018).

Two other instruments, a cloud imager (MSI) and a broadband radiometer (BBR), which measures the reflected solar radiation as well as the emitted thermal radiation of the clouds, complete the sensor equipment on the satellite. By using all four instruments simultaneously, 3D cloud and aerosol scenes can be directly correlated with reflected solar radiation and emitted thermal radiation.

EarthCARE will orbit the Earth at an altitude of about 400 kilometres. The orbit is as low as possible to optimise the use of lidar and radar, but not too low, otherwise aerodynamic drag would affect fuel consumption and mission lifetime.

Because global coverage is required, EarthCARE flies in an almost polar orbit. It crosses the equator in the early afternoon, which ensures optimal illumination and minimal solar radiation for the passive instruments. At 1,600 watts, the system's power requirements are considerable and are mainly determined by the two active instruments, ATLID and CPR.

Visually, the satellite is dominated by the large CPR antenna, which has a diameter of 2.5 metres. The long rear solar array gives the satellite an overall length of 18 metres. The solar array consists of five sections with an area of 21 square metres. The tail-like arrangement helps minimise drag given the satellite's low orbital altitude.

source: Airbus https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/stories/2022-06-unravelling-the-mysteries-of-clouds

https://twitter.com/AirbusSpace/status/1537078064638836736
« Last Edit: 07/01/2023 10:12 pm by zubenelgenubi »

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #4 on: 07/21/2022 03:02 pm »
EarthCARE solar wing deployed

ESA’s EarthCARE satellite mission will soon be launched to answer some critical scientific questions related to the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back out to space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface. As engineers are preparing EarthCARE for its life in orbit, the satellite is being put through its paces at ESA testing facilities in the Netherlands – the largest satellite test facility in Europe, equipped to simulate every aspect of the space environment.

One of the first tests involved the deployment of the satellite’s 11 metre solar wing from its folded stowed configuration, which allows it to fit in the rocket fairing, to its fully deployed configuration as it will be in orbit around Earth. The photograph shows the wing fully deployed.

Related article: EarthCARE takes a big stretch

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/07/EarthCARE_solar_wing_deployed

Image credit: ESA–M. Cowan
« Last Edit: 07/01/2023 10:12 pm by zubenelgenubi »

Offline Rondaz

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #5 on: 07/22/2022 09:56 am »
OOOH, BIG STRETCH!

Recently engineers at @ESA_Tech have gently unfolded the huge five-panel solar wing belonging to the EARTHCARE mission to test that it will deploy correctly once it is in space.

https://twitter.com/ESA_EO/status/1550093455686352897
« Last Edit: 07/01/2023 10:12 pm by zubenelgenubi »

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #6 on: 05/13/2023 07:00 pm »
https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/news/2023-05-earthcare-when-a-satellite-sheds-light-on-the-clouds

Quote
... Airbus successfully completed the Electro-Magnetic Compatibility tests in April 2023 and now this latest ESA “Earth Explorer” satellite is getting closer to launch next year.

Image credit: Airbus
« Last Edit: 07/01/2023 10:13 pm by zubenelgenubi »

Online jacqmans

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« Last Edit: 07/01/2023 10:13 pm by zubenelgenubi »
Jacques :-)

Online zubenelgenubi

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #8 on: 07/01/2023 10:46 pm »
Falcon 9 launch thread here.

Satellite and program updates and discussion here in this thread.
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #9 on: 10/27/2023 08:38 pm »
Gearing up for EarthCARE

Quote
ESA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency are gearing up for a momentous milestone in Earth observation as launch of the EarthCARE satellite approaches.

Following years of rigorous development and extensive testing, the satellite is now undergoing its final round of tests in Europe before being shipped to the launch site early next year – bringing us one step closer to gaining unprecedented insights into the role that clouds and aerosols play in the climate system.

Quote
The satellite is scheduled to be packed up and shipped to the Vandenberg launch site in California in early March, where it will be prepared for liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in May.

Image credit: ESA–SJM Photography

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #10 on: 11/03/2023 03:44 pm »
« Last Edit: 11/04/2023 07:00 pm by bolun »

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #11 on: 03/12/2024 11:10 am »
EarthCARE goes west for launch

Quote
The Airbus-built EarthCARE (Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer) spacecraft has left Munich, Germany, and is now on its way aboard an aircraft to its launch site in Vandenberg, California. EarthCARE is planned to be launched in May on a Falcon 9 rocket.

Credits: Airbus

Offline bolun

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Re: ESA/JAXA - EarthCARE program updates
« Reply #12 on: 03/14/2024 10:59 am »
EarthCARE arrives at Vandenberg launch site

Quote
After a smooth journey from Germany, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has arrived at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Here, it is being stored over the next few weeks before it’s time get the satellite ready for liftoff in May.

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