Continuous and accurate mapping of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is key to limiting climate change. Particularly for the two most important anthropogenic GHGs, CO2 and CH4, fast and accurate monitoring is paramount to implementing targeted mitigation efforts and measuring their effects. While (near)daily global coverage can be achieved by several missions (e.g., TROPOMI, Sentinel-5 and CO2M), there exits an exciting and growing opportunity for a new generation of high-res targeting satellites.

New constellations or swarms of smaller, more inexpensive and flexible (both commercial and research) satellites, will improve the data coverage of these missions. This space observatory to monitor GHGs emissions will provide actionable data to draw clear implications and improve climate change mitigation.

Capabilities are ever expanding and leading to next generation services (such as tip-and-cue activities, near real time monitoring and alert systems) where the Netherlands can continue to claim a world-leading position. The backdrop sketched above creates an urgent need for a new Mission Performance SW platform that is flexible, GHG species and instrument agnostic, user-friendly and interoperable.

This TKI project will focus on two main aspects to make mission data processing fully open and transparent, a prerequisite of any GHG monitoring mission. First, L0-L4 processing tools will be developed that are needed to design and operate any GHG mission monitoring emissions of point sources. Second, we will develop SW to calibrate satellite instruments. Both aspects include algorithmic aspects that are relevant for targeted GHG missions in general and so are of broad use.