ABB and German satellite maker collaborate to advance space science

The relationship between the ocean surface, land, glaciers and sea ice is fundamental to shaping the global climate and extreme weather events. And a new European Space Agency (ESA) programme, centred on two German-built Harmony satellites equipped with ABB monitoring technology, will gain further insights into these complex climate dynamics.

The ESA’s tenth Earth Explorer mission, scheduled for launch in 2029, aims to observe small movements and changes in the shape of the ocean surface, glaciers, ice sheets and land.

The data collected by the mission will help advance climate science and support the understanding and forecasting of extreme weather events such as hurricanes. 

Meanwhile, detection of small shifts in the shape of the earth’s surface will help to predict volcanic eruption, earthquakes and landslides in geologically active areas.

ABB multi-view thermal infrared (TIR) instruments, developed at our measurement and analytics factory in Québec, Canada, will be used on the mission to measure environmental parameters including sea surface temperature and cloud movement. 

This information ensures radiometric precision – the accuracy of the temperature measurement obtained by the infrared instruments compared to the true land or sea surface temperature.

A legacy of partnership with German space science

Our TIR imaging instruments were chosen for the mission by German space and technology company OHB System AG, the main contractor for the program. “We selected ABB on this high-profile mission because of their proven expertise in infrared sensor technologies,” said Agustina Alvarez Toledo, Harmony Project Manager at OHB System AG. “We have collaborated on several space programs and we look forward to working together again to support the scientific community for the benefit of this generation and the ones to follow.”

The two Harmony satellites will orbit the Earth in tandem with a Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite. 

They will combine thermal and radar imagery to provide a wide array of data and give more insight into upper-ocean heat exchanges, drivers of extreme weather, and the long-term impact of climate change. The mission will also provide new information for a better understanding of how ice being lost from glaciers is affecting sea-level rise. 

Sources:
1. ABB in space: taking global technology leadership out of this world
2. Equipping Japan’s satellites to predict extreme weather

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