France in Space #293
** 1: GROUP ON EARTH OBSERVATIONS MEETS IN GENEVA
The intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) held its first meeting at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Headquarters in Geneva on May 3-4. Government representatives from 60 nations and the European Commission as well as members from over 40 international and intergovernmental organizations participated. The GEO Secretariat, to be set up in WMO Headquarters, was established as an independent intergovernmental body following the Third Earth Observation Summit which took place in Brussels in February 2005. Its aims at overseeing the fulfilment of a 10-year implementation plan to create a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). WMO will be a key contributor to GEOSS and has a long experience in international cooperation and information distribution in the domain of Earth Observation. During the Geneva meeting, GEO delegates elected a new Executive Committee consisting of 12 members: Brazil, Germany, Italy, Honduras, Japan, Morocco, Russian Federation, Thailand as well as China, the European Commission, South Africa and the United States which are the four co-chairs. [World Meteorological Organization 05/03/2005]
** 2: CONFIRMATION OF MSG-2 LAUNCH DATE AWAITS SHOCK ANALYSIS
Eumetsat’s four-satellite MSG (Meteosat Second Generation) program is scheduled to provide continuous meteorological monitoring until 2018. The MSG-2 spacecraft, to be renamed Meteosat-9 when operational, will soon join MSG-1 (Meteosat-8), which is operational since January 2004, to provide data and images from geostationary orbit, helping forecasters to predict dangerous weather and improving climate research. Eumetsat announced that the planned August 23 launch of MSG-2 aboard Ariane 5G will only be confirmed at the end of June pending further analysis of the shock levels the satellite will encounter during launch. The shock environment that the satellite must withstand will effectively be more severe than the one withstood during the MSG-1 flight in August 2002. [Space News 04/25/2005, Eumetsat 04/18/2005]
** 3: ENVISAT TO PROVIDE SHARPEST EVER GLOBAL EARTH MAP
ESA’s environmental satellite Envisat, launched in 2002, is currently producing a global land cover map to a resolution three times sharper than any previous satellite map. This project is being realized thanks to the multiple Envisat’s instruments working in synergy. Among them, the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) is acquiring images with a spatial resolution of 300 meters, with an average 150 minutes of acquisitions occurring daily, which corresponds to its full resolution mode. The Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument will differentiate between similar land cover classes, such as wetlands and humid tropical forests. To complement this approach, the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) will be used to correct atmospheric distortion and to perform “cloud masking” in order to eliminate cloud pixels. The completed map called GLOBCOVER will be used in several ways, especially providing global observations on forest cover and land dynamics, studying Earth’s ecosystems, modelling climate change extent and impacts as well as monitoring worldwide land resources. Information provided by GLOBCOVER map will serve as input to international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Food Agriculture (FAO), the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). [ESA 05/05/2005]
** 4: EUTELSAT TAKES PART IN THE DTT’S DEPLOYMENT IN FRANCE
Eutelsat’s Atlantic Bird 3 satellite, which already distributes analog channels, is now providing the same service to broadcast transmitters the five multiplexes of the France’s new Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) deployed since March 31st. Primary distribution of television programmes to terrestrial transmitters and cable networks in Europe is a key business activity for Eutelsat: its satellites are in particular a component of the development of DTT in Italy and the United Kingdom. Moreover, Eutelsat’s CEO Giuliano Berretta said he was expecting an expansion of the HDTV (High-Definition TeleVision) market in Europe in 2006, especially through the broadcasting of the Winter Olympic Games in Turin and the Football World Cup in Germany. [Eutelsat 03/29/2005, La Tribune 05/09/2005]
** 5: ESA’S COSMIC VISION TO PREPARE AN EXPLORATION BLUEPRINT
European space scientists are expected to adopt a broad blueprint for space exploration between 2015 and 2025. In an April 19 briefing, the European Space Agency (ESA) revealed its Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program, which lays out a series of science goals, including landings on near-Earth objects, space-based astronomy observatories, and a search for conditions that might support life on other worlds. The missions would be launched in 2015 with their pace and scale being determined by the level of funding made available to the program. The most immediate step for the program is an approval by Europe’s Space Science Advisory Committee (SSAC) and by ESA’s Science Program Committee, expected soon. If the plan is accepted, requests for mission proposals would be sent out later this year. For a space-science mission to be launched in 2015, design studies would effectively need to start in 2007, said Giovanni Bignami, the SSAC’s Chairman. ESA’s Aurora space exploration program – the European plan for Mars exploration – may be used, in its early years, as a technology pathfinder for the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025, particularly as the two programs’ scientific goals coincide. [Space News 04/25/2005, Center for Defense Information 05/10/2005)
** 6: IN BRIEF
ESA flight controllers have successfully completed the deployment of the first boom of the Mars Express Sub-Surface Sounding Radar Altimeter (MARSIS) on board Mars Express spacecraft. The deployment of the second antenna boom has however been delayed to better understand an anomaly that took place when the first boom was deployed. The MARSIS experiment is to map the Martian sub-surface structure to a depth of a few kilometres, searching especially water. [ESA 05/10/2005]
The European Commission has given its approval to Alcatel and Finmeccanica for the creation of two space companies, Alcatel Alenia Spazio and Telespazio. The merger of the space activities through the creation of two joint-ventures was announced last January (cf. France in Space 282 article 1). [SatNews Daily 05/02/2005]
France In Space is a weekly synthesis of French space activities based on French press. Its content does not reflect an official position of the French Government or CNES. It is provided by the CNES office and the Office of Science and Technology of the French Embassy in Washington D.C Editors: Jean-Jacques Tortora, Clémence Le Fèvre
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“CNES develops and leads national space programmes. The main thrust of its action is to serve France’s ambition to sustain a strong space capability and contribute to scientific discovery at the highest levels. CNES is committed to fostering innovative space technologies that meet the current and future needs of society. Most programmes are pursued in cooperation with international partners. CNES also plays a central role in programmes initiated by ESA, the European Space Agency, to which it is a major contributor. It is thus a driving force behind ESA programmes and activities”.
