Insider Brief
- OHB System AG has been selected by the European Space Agency as the prime contractor for the Harmony mission, also known as Earth Explorer 10.
- This €280 million contract involves developing two Earth observation satellites, part of ESA’s FutureEO program, to advance Earth and climate science.
- Scheduled for launch in 2029, the Harmony satellites will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit at 693 kilometres above Earth.
- This mission aims to enhance our understanding of ocean dynamics, sea ice, glaciers, and tectonic activities, providing critical data for climate research, land monitoring, and disaster management.
OHB System AG has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) as the prime contractor for the Harmony mission, also known as Earth Explorer 10. This €280 million contract involves developing two Earth observation satellites, part of ESA’s FutureEO program, to advance Earth and climate science. The contract was signed at the 75th International Astronautical Congress in Milan by Simonetta Cheli, ESA Director of Earth Observations, and Rüdiger Schönfeld, Board Member at OHB System AG.
The Harmony mission will feature two satellites that will work alongside the Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite to gather high-resolution data on Earth’s surface motion. These satellites will carry both passive synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and multi-view thermal infrared (TIR) instruments. This combination marks a technical first for OHB, integrating radar and optical instruments on the same platform.
Scheduled for launch in 2029, the Harmony satellites will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit at 693 kilometers above Earth. They will work in tandem with Sentinel-1D’s radar signals to observe small-scale surface movement across oceans, glaciers, and solid land. This mission aims to enhance our understanding of ocean dynamics, sea ice, glaciers, and tectonic activities, providing critical data for climate research, land monitoring, and disaster management.
Harmony’s scientific goals include studying sub-mesoscale ocean circulation, ice sheet dynamics, and volcanic activity. These observations will fill existing gaps in knowledge and contribute to forecasting models for sea ice, glacier mass balance, and land deformation.
Through this collaboration, OHB System AG and its partners aim to push the boundaries of Earth observation and improve the scientific understanding of climate change and its impacts on our planet.
Image credit: ESA
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