ESA´S CoReH2O system and payload overview

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, CoReH₂O 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 CoReH₂O requirements, mission concept and profile, satellite, payload, and status of the mission.