CSAR - cryogenic solar absolute radiometer HIS - hyperspectral imaging spectrometer
TRUTHS(TraceableRadiometryUnderpinningTerrestrial- andHelio-Studies) is a plannedEuropean Space Agency (ESA)satellite. It is meant to improve the accuracy, reliability, and integrity ofEarth observation data,[2] and to be the first of a new class of "SI-traceable satellites" (SITSats) that will enable other Earth observation missions to calibrate measurements with reference to them.[3] The mission is led by the UKNational Physical Laboratory (NPL) and its lead scientist for Earth observation, Nigel Fox.[4]
"Climatebenchmarking through high-accuracy directhyperspectral measurements of the Earth’s incoming and outgoing radiation to enhance our ability to estimate theEarth’s radiation budget by an order of magnitude, enabling detection of climate signals in the shortest possible time."
"To establish agold-standardreference dataset against which to cross-calibrate other sensors, facilitating an upgrade to the performance of the global Earth observing system to ensure interoperability and robust anchoring to an SI reference in space."
A secondary objective of the mission is the use the global hyperspectral data to "constrain and improve retrieval algorithms".[6]
Alongside communications and navigation equipment, the scientific payload of the satellite would include three instruments: the cryogenic solar absolute radiometer (CSAR), the onboard calibration system (OBCS), and the hyperspectral imaging spectrometer (HIS).
The instruments would produce global hyperspectral (320 nm to 2400 nm) measurements of "top-of-atmosphere earthspectral radiance (0.3% k=2);solar irradiance (both total and spectrally resolved, 0.02% and 0.3% respectively); and lunar spectral irradiance (0.3%)".[3]
The cryogenic radiometer is the primary standard used by nationalmetrology institutes for radiometric measurements and "recommended as the means to achieve SI traceability".[6] The CSAR, which would be cooled to < 60 K, is therefore considered "the heart of the calibration system".[6]
The mission would be the first to host aprimary standard cryogenicradiometer aboard a satellite.[3] The OBCS would "...transfer calibration traceability from the SI defining power measurement... to a full spectrally resolved radiance calibration of an instrument" – in the case of TRUTHS from the CSAR to the HIS – in a simplified manner to the steps used by terrestrialmetrology institutes.[6] The HIS can then be used to image the Earth, the Moon, and also to "measure incident solar spectral irradiance."[6]
In order to obtain both scientific and financial support for the mission, many reports and academic publications were produced by Fox and collaborators over several decades.[7][8][9][10][11][12]
2022 – Passed preliminary design, technical, and scientific reviews.[19] Received further funding at the ESA ministerial conference.[20]
2023 – Further funding awarded duringCOP28, toAirbus UK for design and development; and toTeledyne e2v to construct the hyperspectral imaging spectrometer detection system.[21]
^Fox, Nigel; Green, Paul; et al. (2016). "Traceable Radiometery Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio- Studies (TRUTHS): Establishing a climate and calibration observatory in space".2016 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS). pp. 1939–1942.doi:10.1109/igarss.2016.7729499.ISBN978-1-5090-3332-4.
TRUTHS mission explanation -Space4Climate (2021)[1]
