Three Earth Explorer mission candidates selected for next phase
The European Space Agency's Programme Board for Earth Observation has selected three mission candidates—ECO, Keystone, and CryoRad—to progress to the next preparatory phase toward becoming ESA's twelfth Earth Explorer satellite mission. The selection followed a User Consultation Meeting in July where four mission concepts were evaluated by the scientific community, and built on advice from ESA's Advisory Committee for Earth Observation. ECO would measure global mean Earth Energy Imbalance to address a key climate knowledge gap; Keystone would provide the first global direct observations of atomic oxygen in the 50–250 km altitude range and detect space debris; CryoRad would directly measure temperatures and conditions within polar ice sheets to improve understanding of ice-sheet dynamics and sea-level change. One of the three missions will be selected prior to the next ESA Council at Ministerial level for implementation, with an expected launch in the 2036 timeframe.
