Launch of EarthCARE, an ESA Earth Explorer Mission for More Accurate Climate Predictions and Weather Forecasts, with SPACEBEL Involvement

Set for departure into Space on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Base in California (USA), on May 28th 2024, EarthCARE (Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer) is a European mission developed in close cooperation with JAXA, the Japanese Space Agency, since 2008.

SPACEBEL has contributed to the software development of the EarthCARE Mass Memory and Formatting Unit, i.e. a high capacity data processing, storage and formatting device featuring a fast downlink of the satellite’s payload datasets. With this on-board embedded participation, we clearly emphasize the ultimate goal of our mission critical software solutions: protect our planet and improve life on Earth through science and technology.  

As an Earth Explorer mission of ESA’s Living Planet Programme, EarthCARE will indeed investigate critical aspects of our planet’s environment thanks to onboard cutting-edge technologies in order to learn more about the functioning between Earth’s key systems - Cryosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere and Ionosphere as well as the Earth’s interior - and the impact of human activity on natural processes. 

More specifically, this complex mission should allow scientists to improve our understanding of the interactions between cloud-aerosol-radiation processes and their role on climate regulation, thus enabling optimised climate and numerical weather forecasting models. 

Weighing about 1,7 tons and built by Airbus, prime contractor, EarthCARE carries four advanced instruments which will take measurements simultaneously.

SPACEBEL has also participated in the European SMOS and GOCE Earth Explorer missions with simulation and testing software developments.