New Look for Ground-breaking UK-led ESA Mission to Detect Climate Change
November 8, 2021 | ESAEstimated reading time: 3 minutes

TRUTHS, which stands for Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio- Studies, will provide a gold standard reference for satellites observing the Earth, Moon, and Sun.
Conceived by the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and funded by the UK Space Agency, TRUTHS is being developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). The satellite will be built by the UK space industry led by Airbus UK, along with partners across Europe, including Greece, Switzerland, Romania, and the Czech Republic, who have also provided funding for the mission.
Beth Greenaway, Head of Earth Observation and Climate at the UK Space Agency, said, “The UK-led TRUTHS mission is making significant progress and we can now unveil more details about what it will actually look like. The mission will play a vital role in improving how we monitor climate change using satellite data and support the decisive climate action which global nations are negotiating at COP26.
The ground-breaking mission will create a ‘climate and calibration observatory in space’ which will reduce uncertainty in the Earth-observing data and will set a new benchmark to detect a change in Earth’s climate system. It will build confidence in climate action providing an enabling element of a Space-based climate observing system tied unequivocally to international standards.
In addition to providing this benchmark climate data, its orbit allows its measurements to be directly compared with other missions when their orbit crosses, as shown in the new material released today.”
Dominique Gillieron, head of the Earth Observation Research Mission at the European Space Agency, said, “Building on its experience of multiple previous Earth Observation missions, ESA leads the preparation phase of TRUTHS mission towards its final endorsement by end of 2022 at the ESA ministerial conference. TRUTHS will be a perfect complement to the current planned Earth Observation missions providing unprecedented radiometric accuracy.
When there is uncertainty in data it is difficult to make decisions. This is especially true for climate as very detailed resolutions and long-term records are needed to determine a climate change signal above the natural variability in the weather and climate. TRUTHS is providing the confidence to allow both existing and new missions data to be harmonised and used to make trusted decisions related to climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. It will provide the reference point to help assess progress of these actions and their impact on society.
The early design phase of the TRUTHS mission has been validated; an important milestone achieved by the TRUTHS consortium as they now move to the detailed design phase.
TRUTHS will provide information, which will be of specific importance to the global south and areas where the in-situ, ground-based infrastructure is most challenging and difficult to provide reliable information, and where remote sensing facilitates are crucial to ensuring a rapid response to adapt.”
Professor Nigel Fox, UK TRUTHS mission scientist, NPL said, “TRUTHS meets calls from the world’s satellite and climate community for robust high accuracy SI traceability. A recent publication from the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites has highlighted the urgency for improved accuracy of observations from space, to help ensure our actions are having the desired impact.
Although TRUTHS is led by the UK its outcomes and objectives are truly global in nature. As the satellite moves through these important phases, many of those who will eventually benefit from the data may only just be starting school and I hope missions like TRUTHS will inspire them to pursue careers in this exciting sector.”
Justin Byrne Head of Earth Observation and Science at Airbus Defence and Space UK, said, “TRUTHS is an important mission as it will provide the gold standard of calibration for space-based Earth observation – a kind of ‘standards laboratory in space’. With TRUTHS we also have the opportunity to further develop important areas of industrial capabilities across the UK space sector.”
Suggested Items
NASA’s 6-Pack of Mini-Satellites Ready for Their Moment in the Sun
12/01/2023 | NASAMost NASA missions feature one spacecraft or, occasionally, a few. The agency’s Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE) is using half a dozen. This month, mission members completed construction of the six identical cereal box-size satellites, which will now go into storage and await their final testing and ride to space. SunRISE will launch as a rideshare aboard a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket, sponsored by the United States Space Force (USSF)’s Space Systems Command (SSC).
Lockheed Martin Technology Demonstration to Showcase Faster On-Orbit Sensor Calibration
11/28/2023 | Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin will soon launch a unique wideband Electronically Steerable Antenna (ESA) payload demonstrator to show the company's investment in advanced technology to perform missions faster once on orbit. The payload demonstrator, which will launch aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket, extends Lockheed Martin’s significant investment in scalable wideband ESA technology development to showcasing an actual on-orbit capability. This technology is critical to future remote sensing architectures.
MDA Announces Strategic Expansion in the Uk
11/23/2023 | PRNewswireMDA Ltd., a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, has revealed plans to more than double its UK workforce and operational footprint over the next 12 months.
Northrop Grumman Completes Critical Design Review for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Tracking Layer
11/16/2023 | Northrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman Corporation recently completed its Critical Design Review (CDR) on a proliferated low-Earth orbit constellation of 16 missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency, clearing the way to begin production work on the space vehicles.
Intelsat Awarded U.S. Army’s First SATCOM as SaaMS Pilot Contract
11/10/2023 | BUSINESS WIREIntelsat, operator of one of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial networks, will soon provide the U.S Army with new, flexible, and fully managed multi-orbit satellite communications (SATCOM) support, following the award of the Army’s first-ever Satellite Communication (SATCOM) as a Managed Service (SaaMS) contract.