The “Next Generation Gravity Mission”: challenges and consolidation of the system concepts and technological innovations

Dionisio, Sabrina; Anselmi, Alberto; Bonino, Luciana; Cesare, Stefano; Massotti, Luca; Silvestrin, Pierluigi

doi:10.2514/6.2018-2495

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Optical cavities are essential to many high sensitivity measuring techniques and experiments where lasers with high frequency stability are needed. The required fractional stability and the frequency range of interest are diverse and span from values close to (in units of the square root of the power spectral density, PSD) 10 −17 Hz −1/2 at short time scales in atomic clocks [1][2][3][4][5][6] to 10 −13 Hz −1/2 at long time scales in space based laser interferometers such as the future gravitational wave detector LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) [7], the LRI (Laser Ranging Interferometer) on GRACE Follow-On (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On) [8,9] and the next generation of gravity field missions [10]. Applications in future GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) concepts [11,12] will also benefit from optical cavities exhibiting stability levels in the 10 −15 Hz −1/2 range at time scales of seconds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term stable optical cavity for special relativity tests in space

et al. 2019

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BOOST (BOOst Symmetry Test) is a proposed space mission to search for Lorentz invariance violations and aims to improve the Kennedy-Thorndike parameter constraint by two orders of magnitude. The mission consists of comparing two optical frequency references of different nature, an optical cavity and a hyperfine transition in molecular iodine, in a low Earth orbit. Naturally, the stability of the frequency references at the orbit period of 5400 s (f =0.18 mHz) is essential for the mission success. Here we present our experimental efforts to achieve the required fractional frequency stability of 7.4 × 10 −14 Hz −1/2 at 0.18 mHz (in units of the square root of the power spectral density), using a high-finesse optical cavity. We have demonstrated a frequency stability of (9 ± 3) × 10 −14 Hz −1/2 at 0.18 mHz, which corresponds to an Allan deviation of 10 −14 at 5400 s. A thorough noise source breakdown is presented, which allows us to identify the critical aspects to consider for a future space-qualified optical cavity for BOOST. The major noise contributor at sub-milli-Hertz frequency was related to intensity fluctuations, followed by thermal noise and beam pointing. Other noise sources had a negligible effect on the frequency stability, including temperature fluctuations, which were strongly attenuated by a five-layer thermal shield.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term stable optical cavity for special relativity tests in space

et al. 2019

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“…For that reason, the Bender constellation consisting of two pairs of satellites flying in in-line formation was recommended. The combination of the orbit and the mission lifetime objectives is a design driver for the satellite system (Dionisio et al 2018a). As for all gravity missions, the orbit shall be as low as possible, while the mission lifetime was intended to cover a full solar cycle, i.e.…”

Section: Satellite System Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The technical solution to this set of requirements was to develop a sophisticated attitude and orbit control system that is based on electric propulsion, where eight smaller ion thrusters, supported by three magnetic torquers, control the attitude of the satellites and one larger ion thruster compensates the effect of drag in the along-track direction (Dionisio et al 2018a). Since the mean thermosphere neutral density could vary by a factor of ten throughout a full solar cycle, the ion thrusters need to support a wide thrust range.…”

Section: Satellite System Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

ESA’s next-generation gravity mission concepts

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Massotti

et al. 2020

Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei

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The paper addresses the preparatory studies of future ESA mission concepts devoted to improve our understanding of the Earth's mass change phenomena causing temporal variations in the gravity field, at different temporal and spatial scales, due to ice mass changes of ice sheets and glaciers, continental water cycles, ocean masses dynamics and solid Earth deformations. The ESA initiatives started in 2003 with a study on observation techniques for solid Earth missions and continued through several studies focusing on the satellite system, technology development for propulsion and distance metrology, preferred mission concepts, the attitude and orbit control system, as well as the optimization of the satellite constellation. These activities received precious inputs from the GOCE, GRACE and GRACE-FO missions. More recently, several studies related to new sensor concepts based on cold atom interferometry (CAI) were conducted, mainly focusing on technology development for different instrument configurations (GOCE-like and GRACE-like) and including validation activities, e.g. a first successful airborne survey with a CAI gravimeter. The latest results concerning the preferred satellite architectures and constellations, payload design and estimated science performance will be presented as well as remaining open issues for future concepts.

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“…Based on this prioritisation, NASA is currently running various studies how a Next Generation Gravity Mission (NGGM) should be realised, e.g., in terms of the number of satellites (or satellite pairs), orbit configuration and instrumentation. Also, ESA launched a feasibility study on NGGM with the use of Laser interferometer for ranging measurements (Dionisio et al 2018). A NGGM based on the innovative observational concept of a high-low tracking formation with micrometre ranging accuracy (Pail et al 2019) is currently being studied by CNES.…”

Section: Future Of Gravimetry Missionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Use of Satellite Remote Sensing to Detect Floods and Droughts at Large Scales

et al. 2020

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Hydrological extremes, in particular floods and droughts, impact all regions across planet Earth. They are mainly controlled by the temporal evolution of key hydrological variables like precipitation, evaporation, soil moisture, groundwater storage, surface water storage and discharge. Precise knowledge of the spatial and temporal evolution of these variables at the scale of river basins is essential to better understand and forecast floods and droughts. In this article, we present recent advances on the capability of Earth observation (EO) satellites to provide global monitoring of floods and droughts. The local scale monitoring of these events which is traditionally done using high-resolution optical or SAR (synthetic aperture radar) EO and in situ data will not be addressed. We discuss the applications of moderate-to low-spatial-resolution space-based observations, e.g., satellite gravimetry (GRACE and GRACE-FO), passive microwaves (i.e. SMOS) and satellite altimetry (i.e. the JASON series and the Copernicus Sentinel missions), with supporting examples. We examine the benefits and drawbacks of integrating these EO datasets to better monitor and understand the processes at work and eventually to help in early warning and management of flood and drought events. Their main advantage is their large monitoring scale that provides a "big picture" or synoptic view of the event that cannot be achieved with often sparse in situ measurements. Finally, we present upcoming and future EO missions related to this topic including the SWOT mission. Keywords Floods • Droughts • Large scale • Terrestrial water storage • GRACE • SMOS • Satellite altimetry • SWOT Water Storage on the Continents: General RemarksFreshwater represents less than 3% of the total amount of water on Earth. On land, freshwater is stored in various reservoirs such as ice caps, snow, glaciers, groundwater, soil moisture (in the unsaturated soil and root zone, i.e. in the upper few metres of the soil (e.g., Hillel 1998)) and surface water bodies (rivers, lakes, man-made reservoirs, wetlands and inundated areas) (Fig. 1). These different storage compartments are in direct interactions with the atmosphere. For example, in the tropical Pacific, long-term droughts and floods are under the influence of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events (e.g., Ward et al. 2014; Fok et al. 2018 and references therein).

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The “Next Generation Gravity Mission”: challenges and consolidation of the system concepts and technological innovations

Cited by 10 publications

References 5 publications

Long-term stable optical cavity for special relativity tests in space

Long-term stable optical cavity for special relativity tests in space

ESA’s next-generation gravity mission concepts

On the Use of Satellite Remote Sensing to Detect Floods and Droughts at Large Scales

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