FutureEO


FutureEO is a Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) managed by the Earth Observation Programmes Directorate.
FutureEO supports preparation and development of series of Earth observation satellite missions including the established Earth Explorers, the smaller agile Scout missions, as well as CubeSat-type Φ-sats.

Earth Explorer missions

The Earth Explorer missions of the European Space Agency are innovative Earth-Observation scientific missions; so far, 11 Earth Explorers have been selected. The selection process involves a competition between various scientific concepts: 4 mission concepts are typically considered in Phase-0, and only one of them is selected at the end of Phase-A.

Launched

GOCE – Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer; it was launched on 17 March 2009. It reentered the atmosphere on 11 November 2013.
  • SMOS – the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite studies ocean salinity and soil moisture; it was launched on 2 November 2009.
  • CryoSat – a program designed to map the Earth's ice cover.
  • * CryoSat-1 was lost in 2005 when the Russian Rokot launch vehicle malfunctioned and was terminated.
  • * CryoSat-2 was launched on 8 April 2010.
  • Swarm – a trio of satellites to map the Earth's magnetic field. The SWARM constellation was launched successfully on 22 November 2013.
  • Aeolus – the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission Aeolus used an innovative laser to measure global winds. Aeolus was successfully launched on 22 August 2018 and deorbited and re-entered the atmosphere over Antarctica on 28 July 2023. Following the success of Aeolus as an Earth Explorer, Aeolus-2 is a cooperation involving ESA and EUMETSAT which will provide two operational satellites in mid-2030s.EarthCARE – the Earth Clouds Aerosols and Radiation Explorer studies the interplay between aerosols, clouds, and radiation thanks to a suite of complementary on-board instruments. The mission delivers a large number of products and has been considered by ESA as the most complex Earth Explorer to date. Launched on 28 May 2024.
  • BIOMASS – designed to calculate the amount of carbon stored in the world's forests, and to monitor for any changes over the course of its five-year mission. Launched on 29 April 2025.

Selected

Non-selected

Past candidate missions that were not selected include:
  • CoReH2O – a mission to study key characteristics in terrestrial snow, ice, and water cycles and their relations to climate change and variability. Competed with BIOMASS and PREMIER for the Earth Explorer 7 mission opportunity.
  • PREMIER – a mission to study atmospheric processes related to trace gas, radiation, and chemical compositions in the mid to upper troposphere and lower stratosphere in order to understand their role on climate change. Competed with BIOMASS and CoReH2O for the Earth Explorer 7 mission opportunity.
  • CarbonSat – a mission to determine the global distributions of carbon dioxide and methane and their impact on climate change. Competed with FLEX for the Earth Explorer 8 mission opportunity.
  • SKIM – a mission to measure ocean-surface currents using the Doppler technique, in order to improve understanding of the ocean current dynamics behind the hydrological and geochemical cycles. Competed with FORUM for the Earth Explorer 9 mission opportunity.
  • Daedalus – a mission to study the electrodynamic processes of the Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere. Competed with Harmony for the Earth Explorer 10 mission opportunity.
  • Hydroterra – a geosynchronous synthetic aperture radar satellite that aims to observe diurnal water cycle processes, in order to improve weather prediction capabilities. Competed with Harmony for the Earth Explorer 10 mission opportunity.
  • Cairt – a mission to observe atmospheric chemistry and dynamics in the altitude range of 5 to 120 km, in order to better understand the relationship between climate change and atmospheric circulation. Competed with Wivern for the Earth Explorer 11 mission opportunity.
  • Nitrosat – a mission to precisely measure nitrogen dioxide and ammonia levels in the atmosphere, which is essential to understanding the role of nitrogen compounds in aerosol pollution. Competed with Wivern for the Earth Explorer 11 mission opportunity.
  • Seastar – a mission to study sub-mesoscale meteorological dynamics by providing 1 km resolution ocean surface current and wind vectors for coast, shelf, and polar ice zones. Competed with Wivern for the Earth Explorer 11 mission opportunity.

Earth Explorer 12 candidates

From the 17 submissions, ESA’s Advisory Committee for Earth Observation recommended that four of the ideas should go forward to the assessment study phase:
  • CryoRad proposes to measure low frequency passive microwave radiometry of the cryosphere.
  • ECO would directly measure the difference between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation of the planet.
  • Hydroterra+ is a geostationary satellite mission to provide high temporal rate SAR imagery to understand rapid water cycle and tectonic events.
  • Keystone would measure atomic oxygen in 50–100 km of the atmosphere.

Missions of Opportunity

Scout missions

Φ-sat missions

Phi-Sat-1, launched in 2020Phi-Sat-2, launched in 2024