ESA's FutureEO programme visualization (2021)ESA's Earth Explorer missions (2022)ESA's Living Planet programme visualization (2013)
FutureEO (formerlyLiving Planet Programme)[1][2] is a Programme of theEuropean Space Agency (ESA) managed by the Earth Observation Programmes Directorate.FutureEO supports preparation and development of series ofEarth observation satellite missions including the established Earth Explorers, the smaller agile Scout missions,[3] as well asCubeSat-type Φ-sats.[4]
The Earth Explorer missions of the European Space Agency are innovative Earth-Observation scientific missions; so far, 11 Earth Explorers have been selected.[2] The selection process involves a competition between various scientific concepts: 4 mission concepts are typically considered in Phase-0, and only one of them is selected at the end of Phase-A.[5]
GOCE – Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer; it was launched on 17 March 2009.[6] It reentered the atmosphere on 11 November 2013.
SMOS – the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite[7][8] studies ocean salinity and soil moisture; it was launched on 2 November 2009.[9]
CryoSat – a program designed to map the Earth's ice cover.
CryoSat-1 was lost in 2005 when the RussianRokot launch vehicle malfunctioned and was terminated.
Swarm – a trio of satellites to map the Earth's magnetic field.[10] TheSWARM constellation was launched successfully on 22 November 2013.[11]
Aeolus – the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission Aeolus used an innovative laser to measure global winds. Aeolus was successfully launched on 22 August 2018[12][13] and deorbited and re-entered the atmosphere over Antarctica on 28 July 2023.[14] Following the success of Aeolus as an Earth Explorer,[15]Aeolus-2 is a cooperation involvingESA[16] andEUMETSAT[17] which will provide two operational satellites in mid-2030s.[18]
EarthCARE – the Earth Clouds Aerosols and Radiation Explorer studies the interplay betweenaerosols,clouds, andradiation thanks to a suite of complementary on-board instruments[19][20]. The mission delivers a large number of products[21] and has been considered byESA as the most complex Earth Explorer to date.[22] Launched on 28 May 2024.[23]
BIOMASS – designed to calculate the amount ofcarbon stored in the world's forests, and to monitor for any changes over the course of its five-year mission.[24][25][26] Launched on 29 April 2025.[27]
FLEX – the FLuorescence EXplorer mission will globally monitor steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence in terrestrial vegetation.[28] It is currently scheduled to launch in 2026.[29][30]
FORUM – Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring; a mission to measure Earth'soutgoing radiation emissions across the entirefar-infrared electromagnetic spectrum, in order to gain insight into water vapour andcirrus cloud regulation of the planet's surface temperature. It is currently projected to launch in 2027.[31][32]
WIVERN (Wind Velocity Radar Nephoscope) – a mission to measure cloud wind velocity, rain, snow, and ice water via aDoppler weather radarnephoscope, in order to improve weather forecast models. Selected as the 11th Earth Explorer mission in September 2025.[35]
Past candidate missions that were not selected include:
CoReH2O – a mission to study key characteristics in terrestrial snow, ice, and water cycles and their relations to climate change and variability.[36] Competed with BIOMASS and PREMIER for the Earth Explorer 7 mission opportunity.
PREMIER – a mission to study atmospheric processes related to trace gas, radiation, and chemical compositions in the mid to upper troposphere and lower stratosphere in order to understand their role on climate change.[37] Competed with BIOMASS and CoReH2O for the Earth Explorer 7 mission opportunity.
CarbonSat – a mission to determine the global distributions of carbon dioxide and methane and their impact on climate change.[38] Competed with FLEX for the Earth Explorer 8 mission opportunity.
Daedalus – a mission to study the electrodynamic processes of the Earth'sthermosphere andionosphere. Competed with Harmony for the Earth Explorer 10 mission opportunity.[33][41]
Hydroterra (formerly known as G-Class) – ageosynchronous synthetic aperture radar satellite that aims to observediurnal water cycle processes, in order to improve weather prediction capabilities. Competed with Harmony for the Earth Explorer 10 mission opportunity.[33][41]
Cairt (Changing-Atmosphere Infra-Red Tomography Explorer) – a mission to observeatmospheric chemistry anddynamics in the altitude range of 5 to 120 km, in order to better understand the relationship between climate change andatmospheric circulation. Competed withWivern for the Earth Explorer 11 mission opportunity.[42][43][44]
Nitrosat – a mission to precisely measurenitrogen dioxide andammonia levels in the atmosphere, which is essential to understanding the role of nitrogen compounds inaerosol pollution. Competed withWivern for the Earth Explorer 11 mission opportunity.[42][43][44]
Seastar – a mission to studysub-mesoscale meteorological dynamics by providing 1 km resolution ocean surface current and wind vectors for coast, shelf, and polar ice zones. Competed withWivern for the Earth Explorer 11 mission opportunity.[42][43][44]
From the 17 submissions, ESA’s Advisory Committee for Earth Observation (ACEO) recommended that four of the ideas should go forward to the assessment study phase:[45]
CryoRad proposes to measure low frequency passive microwave radiometry of the cryosphere.
ECO would directly measure the difference between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation of the planet.
Hydroterra+ is a geostationary satellite mission to provide high temporal rate SAR imagery to understand rapid water cycle and tectonic events.
Keystone would measure atomic oxygen in 50–100 km of the atmosphere.
CubeMAP (Scout 1),cancelled – quantifying processes in the upper-atmosphere[46][47]
HydroGNSS (Scout 2) – two identical satellites sensingGalileo andGPS signals reflected by Earth's surface for improving the knowledge of Earth'shydrological cycle; launching in late 2025[48]
NanoMagSat (Scout 3) – measuring the ionospheric environment, monitoring Earth's magnetic field; launching in late 2027[49][50]
Tango (Scout 4) – monitoring three greenhouse gases: methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide being emitted from large industrial sites[51][50]
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