ESA Projects
ESA AI4IS - AI Forecasting for Ice Shelf Collapse (2024 - 2026)
A a project within AI4Science – Challange 3 - Prediction of dynamics, specially anomalies and extremes. The project aims to develop the first EO-driven, AI system for predicting Antarctic ice shelf instability (https://ai4is.enveo.at/).
Project Team: Science & Technology (S&T) Norway (PI); ENVEO IT GmbH; University of Lancaster Environment Centre
ESA Contract No. 4000143299
Harmony Development of Level-2/3 ATBD for Solid Earth and Land Ice (2024 - 2027)
The Harmony mission has started this year its implementation phase, with the kick-off of the system activity in July. The next critical milestone in the developments is the system CDR, scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. Until then, one of the major tasks in the frame of the scientific activities is to validate the mission concept with the assessment of the scientific readiness level of the Harmony mission to level 6 (SRL-6). In this context, the main goal of the current activity is to develop the algorithms, the simulation tools and the processors in order to support this assessment for the solid Earth and land ice applications.
Lead: DLR
Project Team: DLR, Pi Space Ltd, University of Bristol, University of Oslo, University of California Irvine, Delta Phi Remote Sensing GmbH, ENVEO IT GmbH
ESA ROSE-L Ionosphere Effects (2024 - 2026)
This activity is concerned with the identification, development, definition, and assessment of the most effective ionospheric mitigation algorithms and end-to-end mitigation methodology for the full set of ROSE-L Level 1 data products, including single images, image time series (incoherent case), interferometric image pairs and interferometric image stacks.
Lead: DLR
Partners: ENVEO
Website: https://www.dlr.de/en/eoc/research-transfer/projects-missions/rose-l-iono
ESA SUPSAR-Snow (2025 - 2027)
The SUPSAR-Snow project will develop, validate and demonstrate novel algorithms to retrieve snow parameters in response to the main areas identified in the SUPSAR call.
Lead: FMI
Partners: ECCC, ENVEO, DLR
ESA HydroSWE - Scatterometer Campaign and Data Analysis Study for Snow Water Equivalent Retrieval and GEO- and LEO-SAR Development (2024 - 2026)
The overall goal of HydroSWE study is to improve the retrieval algorithms for snow parameter retrieval from GEO- and LEO orbits using SAR. As a part of the study, an additional measurement campaign is implemented to address specific research questions related to upcoming satellite missions such as ROSE-L and the proposed Hydroterra+ mission. The objective of the campaign is to collect a time series of fully polarimetric radar backscattering signatures from snow covered terrain, at high temporal frequency, covering at minimum the winter accumulation season.
Lead: FMI
Partners: ENVEO, Gamma RS
ESA SUPSAR-IV (2025 - 2027)
The primary objective of the SUPSAR-IV project is to develop advanced methods for retrieving ice velocity and assess the associated uncertainties, enabling improved monitoring of ice sheets and mountain glaciers by integrating InSAR and offset tracking techniques across multi-frequency SAR data. SUPSAR-IV will produce demonstration products for various regions with different surface and speed characteristics, which will be made available to the scientific community for evaluation in diverse applications. The project will prioritize the use of C- and L-band data in preparation for the next generation of Copernicus SAR satellites and will also explore the potential benefits of incorporating other frequencies, such as P-band and X-band SAR data, to enhance the overall retrieval capabilities.
Lead: ENVEO
Partners: DTU, Univ. Leeds
ESA EE12 Hydroterra+ Phase0 Science Study (2024 - 2026)
Hydroterra+ (H+) is a proposed mission aimed at monitoring rapid processes (ranging from hours to days) of the water cycle, with a particular focus on Europe, the Mediterranean basin, and certain parts of Africa. These areas are highly vulnerable to climate change, and H+ specifically targets a significant gap in observations related to the water cycle - processes occurring on timescales of hours to days at a regional level (current and planned low Earth orbit missions do not adequately address this requirement). H+ represents an evolution of the Hydroterra concept initially proposed for Earth Explorer 10, benefiting from the insights gained during its Phase 0 study and subsequent field experiments to enhance scientific preparedness.
Lead: CIMA
Partners: Univ. Leeds, ENVEO, DLR , ARESYS, POLIMI, Karlsruhe Inst. Technology, Nat. Observatory Athens, Cons. Nat. delle Ricerche
Website: https://www.cimafoundation.org/en/project/hydroterra/
ESA Fresh4Bio (2024 - 2026)
The overall objective of Fresh4Bio is to advance the current state of knowledge of the impact of the Arctic freshwater export and Greenland ice discharge on modulating the water column structure and phytoplankton dynamics on the East Greenland Shelf (EGS).
Lead: DTU
Partners: ENVEO, NPI, S&T
Website: https://fresh4bio.dtu.dk/
ESA DTC Icesheets (2024 - 2027)
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are essential to the Earth system, storing vast freshwater reserves and driving sea level, ocean, and climate dynamics. Their evolution, through ice flow, surface melting, calving, and basal melting, affects ecosystems, coastal regions, and global climate. Through modular, interactive tools and stakeholder-driven use cases, the DTC-IS provides a near-real-time, science-based platform for exploring the state of the ice sheets and for performing “what-if” scenarios, supporting research, and decision-making and policies.
Lead: DTU
Project Team: ENVEO, Univ. Edinburgh, Univ. Lancaster, ASIAQ, GEUS, Univ. Leuven, Earthwave
Website: https://dtc-ice-sheets.org/
ESA DTC Glaciers (2024 - 2025)
The DTC Glaciers project is developed under the European Space Agency’s Digital Twin Earth initiative, as part of the Digital Twin Components (DTC) Early Development Actions.
Leveraging the latest Earth Observation (EO) data, in-situ measurements, and advanced modeling techniques, DTC Glaciers aims to create a dynamic digital representation of mountain glaciers. The digital twin will be designed to be explored, interrogated, and informed in response to real-world events, new observations, and evolving scenarios. This open and interactive platform will empower users and stakeholders to better understand the rapid changes in mountain glaciers and take informed action to address these challenges effectively.
Lead: University of Bristol
Project Team: University of Bristol, Earthwave, University of Edinburgh, University of Innsbruck, University of Zurich, ENVEO
Website: https://dtcglaciers.org/