A constellation of small satellites for the monitoring of Greenhouse Gases

Paper number

IAC-18,B1,2,6,x44986

Author

Mrs. Laure Brooker Lizon-Tati, France, Airbus Defence and Space

Coauthor

Dr. Heinrich Bovensmann, Germany, University of Bremen

Coauthor

Dr. Cyril Crevoisier, France, CNRS

Coauthor

Mrs. Laurence Croizé, France, Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA)

Coauthor

Dr. Etienne Le Coarer, France, Institut de Planet. et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble IPAG/PLANETO

Coauthor

Mr. Andrzej Klonecki, France

Coauthor

Mr. Udrivolf Pica, Belgium, SpaceTec Partners

Coauthor

Dr. Aaldert Van Amerongen, The Netherlands, Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON)

Year

2018

Abstract

The Space CARBon Observatory project (SCARBO), is a project funded by the European Union’s H2020 research and innovation programme, which aims at solving one of the key challenges of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHG) monitoring from space, by increasing significantly the temporal revisit over the various sites of interest while meeting the accuracy and spatial resolution requirements. This is envisaged by implementing a novel miniaturised static spectrometer concept on a constellation of small satellites, coupled with aerosol sensors and high-end reference instruments. The 3-year project started in December 2017. It is coordinated by Airbus Defence and Space, and handled by a consortium of 10 European organisations, including scientific institutes, SMEs and industry.

The challenge of the project is to overcome the current technological and economical roadblocks of existing GHG missions: measurement uncertainties due to aerosols, provision of both high accuracy measurements and high temporal frequency of GHG measurements within a reasonable cost envelope. SCARBO will address both CO2 and CH4 species.

The SCARBO project consists of the detailed design, analysis and modelling of the miniaturised NanoCarb instrument concept, based on user need requirements and supported by performance simulations of the science data retrieval chain. NanoCarb is complemented by collocated ultra-compact aerosol sensor and CO2 reference instruments in order to deliver high accuracy measurements. The overall measurement concept will be experimentally validated through a dedicated airborne campaign featuring instrument prototypes. A market analysis will also be performed to assess the commercial perspectives of the SCARBO mission services at global, regional and local scales. The SCARBO mission added-value will be demonstrated through the analysis of real-life use cases representative of CO2{\bf } and CH4 related issues.

From the technological development of a miniaturised static spectrometer to an innovative mission concept based on a constellation of small satellites, SCARBO will pave the way for Europe to trace anthropogenic CO2 and CH4 emissions offering unprecedented measurement repetitiveness over the entire globe for the price of two mid-sized satellites. In complement to incumbent high-performance space missions, the SCARBO mission and sensors concept based on novel technological developments maturation aim for an operational implementation by 2030. The paper will provide an overview of the project and will present the first results.

Abstract document

IAC-18,B1,2,6,x44986.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-18,B1,2,6,x44986.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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