Assessment of Commercial Space Platforms for Earth Science Instruments

Assessment of Commercial Space Platforms for Earth Science Instruments

Report Series—Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space

  • Publisher: National Academies Press
  • ISBN: 9780309702942
  • eISBN Pdf: 9780309702959
  • eISBN Epub: 9780309702973
  • Place of publication:  United States
  • Year of digital publication: 2023
  • Month: August
  • Pages: 67
  • Language: English

Space-based Earth observations enable global observations of the land surface, biosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere, cryosphere, and oceans. Earth observations from space, combined with data acquired from in situ and ground-based instruments, help scientists understand the components of the Earth system and their interactions and enable wide-ranging applications, including forecasts of weather and air quality, projections of future climate, management of natural resources, ecological forecasting, disaster management, drought and wildfire prediction, and the mapping and prediction of vector borne/animal diseases.

At the request of NASA Earth Science Division, this report assesses the potential use of a proposed multi-user, robot-tended, uncrewed commercial space platform as a potential host for a large number of Earth remote sensing instruments. Assessment of Commercial Space Platforms for Earth Science Instruments evaluates the utility and practicality of a platform in a Sun-synchronous orbit, capable of hosting 20 or more instruments.

  • FrontMatter
  • Reviewers
  • Contents
  • Preface
  • Executive Summary
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Suitability of the Large Platform for Earth System Explorers
  • 3 Earth Venture—Challenges and Opportunities for the Notional Platform
  • 4 Addressing Decadal Survey Priorities with the Notional Platform: A High-Level Summary
  • Appendixes
  • Appendix A: Statement of Task
  • Appendix B: Agenda
  • Appendix C: Acronyms and Abbreviations
  • Appendix D: Committee Biographies

Subjects

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