Watch: Earth Explorer 12 User Consultation Meeting
On 7–8 July 2026, leading Earth observation scientists and experts are gathering in Tallinn, Estonia, for the Earth Explorer 12 User Consultation Meeting – a key milestone in the selection of ESA's next Earth Explorer mission.
Watch live: Earth Explorer 12 User Consultation Meeting on ESA WebTV TWO
Over two days, the Earth observation science community will hear presentations on and debate the scientific strengths of the four Earth Explorer 12 candidate missions: CryoRad, ECO, Hydroterra+ and Keystone. The outcome of the meeting will help inform the selection of up to two mission concepts to advance to the next phase of development.
Programme (all times in CEST)
Tuesday 7 July 08:00: Introduction 09:15: Hydroterra+ 11:30: Break 12:30: Keystone16:00: End
Wednesday 8 July 08:30: Introduction 08:45: ECO 11:00: Break 12:00: CryoRad15:40: End
Candidate missionsInitially selected in April 2024, each concept has undergone a rigorous assessment process culminating in the publication of detailed assessment reports and the User Consultation Meeting.
CryoRad would target polar regions and their processes, namely the acceleration of ice sheet mass loss, the reduction of sea-ice thickness and the freshening of the Arctic Ocean. The mission would provide low-frequency passive microwave measurements from 0.4 to 2 GHz that allow the estimation of geophysical variables such as ice-sheet temperature profiles down to the bedrock.Read: CryoRad report for mission assessment
ECO would resolve the global radiation budget. The mission would provide radiation measurements using a satellite constellation combining Sun and Earth radiometers, and wide-field visible and infrared imagers. It will enable the derivation of Earth's Energy Imbalance, a diagnostic variable for our climate.Read: ECO report for mission assessment
Hydroterra+ would address rapid processes tied to the water cycle over land and to extreme events over Europe, the Mediterranean and northern Africa. The radar mission would be placed in geostationary orbit. From this fixed position above the equator, the satellite's C-band synthetic aperture radar would deliver data products multiple times a day.Read: Hydroterra+ report for mission assessment
Keystone would target the whole-atmosphere chemistry-climate system in the region from 50 km to 250 km. The mission would deliver measurements from a limb-sounding instrument across the Terahertz, infrared and UV-visible spectral range. It would deliver observations of atomic oxygen, other trace gases, temperature and wind.Read: Keystone report for mission assessment
Earth Explorer missionsThe family of Earth Explorer research missions are pivotal to the European Space Agency's FutureEO programme. Since the successful launch of the first Earth Explorer in 2009, this extraordinary family of missions, without exception, keep on surpassing expectations. They continue to demonstrate how breakthrough technology can deliver an astounding range of scientific findings about our planet. Their robust technology leads to many being extended way beyond their planned life in orbit and they gain ever-growing user communities through their scientific excellence and open and free data policy.
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