15/10/2024
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ESA has awarded a contract valued at over €280 million to OHB in Germany to assemble ESA’s two Harmony Earth Explorer satellites.
This revolutionary evaluation mission will current invaluable new data on various Earth processes, from shifts throughout the type of the land ground introduced on by earthquakes and volcanic train to insights into glacier movement. Furthermore, it might enhance our understanding of the interactions between the upper ocean and reduce ambiance, all of which might contribute to a deeper comprehension of Earth’s dynamic applications.
The contract was signed for the time being by Simonetta Cheli, ESA Director of Earth Observations Programmes, and by Rüdiger Schönfeld, Board Member at OHB System AG, on the Worldwide Astronautical Congresswhich is going on in Milan.
Simonetta Cheli talked about, “We’re thrilled to award the financial contract, worth over €280 million, to OHB System AG as prime contractor for the two Harmony satellites.
“This thrilling new mission comprises two equal satellites, each of which carry a receive-only synthetic aperture radar and a multiview thermal-infrared instrument. They will orbit Earth in convoy with a Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite tv for pc television for computer to yield new data to answer important questions on Earth system processes.
“By providing a numerous array of high-resolution measurements of motion occurring at or near Earth’s ground, we completely anticipate Harmony to assemble on the success of our completely different Earth Explorer missions. These missions have made very important contributions gaps in our data of how Earth works. And now, Harmony is poised to further enhance our understanding of by delivering invaluable data which will revenue Earth system science and native climate evaluation.”
Rüdiger Schönfeld added, “We thank ESA for his or her perception in rising this difficult mission and now look forward to getting underway with the assemble. As our subcontractors for Harmony, Thales Alenia Home in Italy is liable for the synthetic aperture radar and ABB in Canada is liable for the thermal-infrared imager.
“With the contract now signed, it’s full steam ahead for Harmony, which must be constructed inside the following 5 years to make sure that the satellites to fulfill their rendezvous with a Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite tv for pc television for computer.”
Florence Hélière, Harmony Enterprise Supervisor, added, “The expertise and dedication of our industrial companions are invaluable property for the Harmony mission, serving to us receive our rendezvous with Sentinel-1 and to advance our scientific understanding of the Earth system.”
The two Harmony satellites will orbit Earth in tandem with a Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite tv for pc television for computer, the configuration of which modifications over the course of Harmony’s life in orbit.
Throughout the various configurations, the Harmony satellites’ synthetic aperture radar units receive the Sentinel-1 radar alerts that bounce once more, or ‘backscatter’, from Earth’s ground. On the similar time, Harmony’s thermal-infrared units current complementary observations of the ocean ground along with the place and motion of clouds above it.
This technique will current a wealth of distinctive data on ocean–ice–ambiance interactions at unprecedented resolution for additional notion into upper-ocean heat exchanges, drivers of utmost local weather akin to hurricanes and the long-term impacts of native climate change.
It might probably moreover current data on surface-wind stress, ground currents, ocean waves and sea-surface temperature at utterly completely different scales. That’s achieved by observing the ocean ground concurrently from utterly completely different directions with the satellites’ collocated radar and thermal imaging applications.
Over land, Harmony will current data to estimate small shifts throughout the type of the land ground, comparable to those leading to and ensuing from earthquakes and volcanic train, thereby contributing to the analysis of geohazards over geologically energetic areas.
The mission could even current new data to examine 3D deformation and stream dynamics of glaciers on the shortly altering marginal zones of the ice sheets for a higher understanding of how ice being misplaced from glaciers is affecting sea-level rise.
