As part ofNASA’s Earth System Explorers Program (ESEP), and in a promising step towards fighting climate change, on May 7, 2024, NASA announced that it has chosenfour concept study proposalsfor missions aimed at getting a better understanding of Earth science areas and our planet.
The four proposals are the Stratosphere Troposphere Response using Infrared Vertically-Resolved Light Explorer (STRIVE), the Ocean Dynamics and Surface Exchange with the Atmosphere (ODYSEA), Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer (EDGE), and the Carbon Investigation (Carbon-I).
NASA’s New Climate-Focused Investigation Proposals
STRIVE will provide daily reports on temperature, atmospheric elements, and aerosol properties from the upper troposphere to the mesosphere, as well as the vertical profiles of ozone and trace gasses aimed at repairing the ozone layer. ODYSEA will quickly measure ocean surface currents and winds to offer insights into how these affect the climate.
EDGE will observe the 3D structure of terrestrial ecosystems, and study how glaciers, ice sheets, and sea ice are changing by observing their surface topography. Finally, Carbon-I will provide advanced and complex measurements of greenhouse gases and potential ethane. This will provide critical information on the carbon cycle and global methane budget.
Selecting the Proposals
NASA is providing each project with $5 million to further study and advance their concepts. Project leaders have one year to provide their findings and updated plans. Thereafter, NASA will select two out of these four proposals to focus on, aiming to launch them by 2030 and 2032.
There is a $310 million cost cap for each mission, but this doesn’t include rocket use and space access that NASA will provide. These projects will contribute to NASA’s Earth-observing efforts, which are already aided by over 24 satellites/instruments currently in orbit.
Earth System Explorers Program (ESEP)
NASA’sESEPis a program that conducts focused scientific investigations quickly and efficiently. The program has been designed to take a deeper look into previously identified ESE Target Observables (TO) mentioned in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2017 Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space.
By prioritizing these Earth science objectives, ESEP ensures that NASA’s resources are directed towards addressing the pressingclimate-relatedchallenges our planet is facing.
NASA’s Selected Proposals for Climate-Focused Missions—Summary
NASA’s recent announcement on the selection of four concept study proposals for Earth science missions is animportant movetowards the collective effort in combatingclimate changeby enhancing our understanding of the planet.
As part of the ESEP, these projects have each been allocated $5 million to aid comprehensive mission concept studies over the next year so that NASA can move forward with two of them, which it then aims to launch in 2030 and 2032.
Image Credit:NASA
