Abstract. The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL) mission is one of six high-priority candidate missions (HPCMs) under consideration by the European Commission to enlarge the Copernicus Space Component. Together, the high-priority candidate missions fill gaps in the measurement capability of the existing Copernicus Space Component to address emerging and urgent user requirements in relation to monitoring anthropogenic CO2 emissions, polar environments, and land surfaces. The ambition is to enlarge the Copernicus Space Component with the high-priority candidate missions in the mid-2020s to provide enhanced continuity of services in synergy with the next generation of the existing Copernicus Sentinel missions. CRISTAL will carry a dual-frequency synthetic-aperture radar altimeter as its primary payload for measuring surface height and a passive microwave radiometer to support atmospheric corrections and surface-type classification. The altimeter will have interferometric capabilities at Ku-band for improved ground resolution and a second (non-interferometric) Ka-band frequency to provide information on snow layer properties. This paper outlines the user consultations that have supported expansion of the Copernicus Space Component to include the high-priority candidate missions, describes the primary and secondary objectives of the CRISTAL mission, identifies the key contributions the CRISTAL mission will make, and presents a concept – as far as it is already defined – for the mission payload.

Abstract. One of the candidate missions in the evolution of the Copernicus Space Component (CSC) is the Copernicus polaR Ice and Snow Topography ALtimeter (CRISTAL). The aim of this mission is to obtain high-resolution sea-ice thickness and land ice elevation measurements and includes the capability to determine the properties of snow cover on ice to serve Copernicus’ operational products and services of direct relevance to the Polar Regions. The evolution of the CSC is foreseen in the mid-2020s to meet priority user needs not addressed by the existing infrastructure, and to reinforce the Copernicus services by expanding the monitoring capability in the thematic domains of anthropogenic emissions (CO2), polar and agriculture/forestry/emergency. This evolution will be synergetic with the enhanced continuity of services foreseen with the next generation of the existing Copernicus Sentinels. New high-priority candidate satellite missions have been identified by the European Commission (EC) for implementation in the coming years to address gaps in current capability and emerging user needs. This paper describes the CRISTAL mission objectives, main mission requirements driving its design, the payload complement currently under development and its expected contributions to the monitoring of important components of Earth’s cryosphere.

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The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing candidates for the next Earth Explorer Core mission with the aim to select the 7 th mission to be launched. Earth Explorers are the backbone of the science and research element of ESA's Living Planet Programme, providing an important contribution to the global endeavour of understanding the Earth system. Six candidate missions were originally selected and investigated in preliminary studies (Phase 0). A down-selection was made after a User Consultation Meeting in January 2009. Three of the candidate missions (Biomass, CoReH 2 O and PREMIER) were retained for more detailed feasibility investigations (Phase A). Each mission has been prepared through two parallel and competing industrial studies and many complementary science and technology activities. The final down-selection will be in 2013, followed by implementation and planned launch in 2019. This paper gives an overview of the CoReH 2 O requirements, mission concept and profile, satellite, payload , and status of the mission.