GENESIS: co-location of geodetic techniques in space

authored by: Pacôme Delva, Zuheir Altamimi, Alejandro Blazquez, Mathis Blossfeld, Johannes Böhm, Pascal Bonnefond, Jean Paul Boy, Sean Bruinsma, Grzegorz Bury, Miltiadis Chatzinikos, Alexandre Couhert, Clément Courde, Rolf Dach, Véronique Dehant, Simone Dell’Agnello, Gunnar Elgered, Werner Enderle, Pierre Exertier, Susanne Glaser, Rüdiger Haas, Wen Huang, Urs Hugentobler, Adrian Jäggi, Ozgur Karatekin, Frank G. Lemoine, Christophe Le Poncin-Lafitte, Susanne Lunz, Benjamin Männel, Flavien Mercier, Laurent Métivier, Benoît Meyssignac, Jürgen Müller, Axel Nothnagel, Felix Perosanz, Roelof Rietbroek, Markus Rothacher, Harald Schuh, Hakan Sert, Krzysztof Sosnica, Paride Testani, Javier Ventura-Traveset, Gilles Wautelet, Radoslaw Zajdel
Abstract: Improving and homogenizing time and space reference systems on Earth and, more specifically, realizing the Terrestrial Reference Frame (TRF) with an accuracy of 1 mm and a long-term stability of 0.1 mm/year are relevant for many scientific and societal endeavors. The knowledge of the TRF is fundamental for Earth and navigation sciences. For instance, quantifying sea level change strongly depends on an accurate determination of the geocenter motion but also of the positions of continental and island reference stations, such as those located at tide gauges, as well as the ground stations of tracking networks. Also, numerous applications in geophysics require absolute millimeter precision from the reference frame, as for example monitoring tectonic motion or crustal deformation, contributing to a better understanding of natural hazards. The TRF accuracy to be achieved represents the consensus of various authorities, including the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), which has enunciated geodesy requirements for Earth sciences. Moreover, the United Nations Resolution 69/266 states that the full societal benefits in developing satellite missions for positioning and Remote Sensing of the Earth are realized only if they are referenced to a common global geodetic reference frame at the national, regional and global levels. Today we are still far from these ambitious accuracy and stability goals for the realization of the TRF. However, a combination and co-location of all four space geodetic techniques on one satellite platform can significantly contribute to achieving these goals. This is the purpose of the GENESIS mission, a component of the FutureNAV program of the European Space Agency. The GENESIS platform will be a dynamic space geodetic observatory carrying all the geodetic instruments referenced to one another through carefully calibrated space ties. The co-location of the techniques in space will solve the inconsistencies and biases between the different geodetic techniques in order to reach the TRF accuracy and stability goals endorsed by the various international authorities and the scientific community. The purpose of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art and explain the benefits of the GENESIS mission in Earth sciences, navigation sciences and metrology. This paper has been written and supported by a large community of scientists from many countries and working in several different fields of science, ranging from geophysics and geodesy to time and frequency metrology, navigation and positioning. As it is explained throughout this paper, there is a very high scientific consensus that the GENESIS mission would deliver exemplary science and societal benefits across a multidisciplinary range of Navigation and Earth sciences applications, constituting a global infrastructure that is internationally agreed to be strongly desirable. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
Organisation(s): Institute of Geodesy
QuantumFrontiers
CRC 1464: Relativistic and Quantum-Based Geodesy (TerraQ)
External Organisation(s): Observatoire de Paris (OBSPARIS)
Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES)
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
TU Wien (TUW)
University of Strasbourg
Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences
Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (OCA)
University of Bern
Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB)
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)
Chalmers University of Technology
European Space Operation Center (ESOC)
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA-GSFC)
ETH Zurich
HE Space Operations
University of Liege
University of Twente
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP)
Laboratory of Space Geophysical and Oceanographic Studies (LEGOS)
Universite de Toulouse
Type: Article
Journal: Earth, planets and space
Volume: 75
ISSN: 1343-8832
Publication date: 11.01.2023
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Geology, Space and Planetary Science
Electronic version(s): http://arxiv.org/abs/2209.15298 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-022-01752-w (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{dd67193019bb44f0bf9937d33929ca52,
title = "GENESIS: co-location of geodetic techniques in space",
abstract = "Improving and homogenizing time and space reference systems on Earth and, more specifically, realizing the Terrestrial Reference Frame (TRF) with an accuracy of 1 mm and a long-term stability of 0.1 mm/year are relevant for many scientific and societal endeavors. The knowledge of the TRF is fundamental for Earth and navigation sciences. For instance, quantifying sea level change strongly depends on an accurate determination of the geocenter motion but also of the positions of continental and island reference stations, such as those located at tide gauges, as well as the ground stations of tracking networks. Also, numerous applications in geophysics require absolute millimeter precision from the reference frame, as for example monitoring tectonic motion or crustal deformation, contributing to a better understanding of natural hazards. The TRF accuracy to be achieved represents the consensus of various authorities, including the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), which has enunciated geodesy requirements for Earth sciences. Moreover, the United Nations Resolution 69/266 states that the full societal benefits in developing satellite missions for positioning and Remote Sensing of the Earth are realized only if they are referenced to a common global geodetic reference frame at the national, regional and global levels. Today we are still far from these ambitious accuracy and stability goals for the realization of the TRF. However, a combination and co-location of all four space geodetic techniques on one satellite platform can significantly contribute to achieving these goals. This is the purpose of the GENESIS mission, a component of the FutureNAV program of the European Space Agency. The GENESIS platform will be a dynamic space geodetic observatory carrying all the geodetic instruments referenced to one another through carefully calibrated space ties. The co-location of the techniques in space will solve the inconsistencies and biases between the different geodetic techniques in order to reach the TRF accuracy and stability goals endorsed by the various international authorities and the scientific community. The purpose of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art and explain the benefits of the GENESIS mission in Earth sciences, navigation sciences and metrology. This paper has been written and supported by a large community of scientists from many countries and working in several different fields of science, ranging from geophysics and geodesy to time and frequency metrology, navigation and positioning. As it is explained throughout this paper, there is a very high scientific consensus that the GENESIS mission would deliver exemplary science and societal benefits across a multidisciplinary range of Navigation and Earth sciences applications, constituting a global infrastructure that is internationally agreed to be strongly desirable. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]",
keywords = "GENESIS satellite, Geodesy, Geophysics, Metrology, Navigation, Positioning, Reference systems, Space geodetic techniques",
author = "Pac{\^o}me Delva and Zuheir Altamimi and Alejandro Blazquez and Mathis Blossfeld and Johannes B{\"o}hm and Pascal Bonnefond and Boy, {Jean Paul} and Sean Bruinsma and Grzegorz Bury and Miltiadis Chatzinikos and Alexandre Couhert and Cl{\'e}ment Courde and Rolf Dach and V{\'e}ronique Dehant and Simone Dell{\textquoteright}Agnello and Gunnar Elgered and Werner Enderle and Pierre Exertier and Susanne Glaser and R{\"u}diger Haas and Wen Huang and Urs Hugentobler and Adrian J{\"a}ggi and Ozgur Karatekin and Lemoine, {Frank G.} and {Le Poncin-Lafitte}, Christophe and Susanne Lunz and Benjamin M{\"a}nnel and Flavien Mercier and Laurent M{\'e}tivier and Beno{\^i}t Meyssignac and J{\"u}rgen M{\"u}ller and Axel Nothnagel and Felix Perosanz and Roelof Rietbroek and Markus Rothacher and Harald Schuh and Hakan Sert and Krzysztof Sosnica and Paride Testani and Javier Ventura-Traveset and Gilles Wautelet and Radoslaw Zajdel",
note = "Funding Information: The GENESIS mission is supported by many scientists, industrial partners, and space agencies, namely: Elisa Felicitas Arias (Paris Observatory-PSL, France), Fran{\c c}ois Barlier (C{\^o}te d{\textquoteright}Azur Observatory, France), Bruno Bertrand (Royal Observatory of Belgium, Belgium), Claude Boucher (Bureau des Longitudes, France), Sara Bruni (PosiTim UG at ESA/ESOC, Germany), Carine Bruyninx (Royal Observatory of Belgium, Belgium), Hugues Capdeville (CLS, France), Corentin Caudron (Universit{\'e} libre de Bruxelles, Belgium), Julien Chab{\'e} (C{\^o}te d{\textquoteright}Azur Observatory, France), Sara Consorti (Thales Alenia Space, Italy), Christophe Craeye (Universit{\'e} catholique de Louvain, Belgium), Pascale Defraigne (Royal Observatory of Belgium, Belgium), Clovis De Matos (ESA/HQ, France), Jan Dou{\u s}a (Geodetic Observatory Pecny, Czech Republic), Fabio Dovis (Politecnico di Torino, Italy), Frank Flechtner (GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany), Claudia Flohrer (BKG, Germany), Aur{\'e}lien Hees (Paris Observatory-PSL/CNRS, France), Ren{\'e} Jr. Landry (Qu{\'e}bec University, Canada), Juliette Legrand (Royal Observatory of Belgium, Belgium), Jean-Michel Lemoine (GET/CNES/CNRS, France), David Lucchesi (IAPS/INAF, Italy), Marco Lucente (IAPS/INAF, Italy), Nijat Mammadaliyev (Technische Universit{\"a}t Berlin, GFZ Potsdam, Germany), Gr{\'e}goire Martinot-Lagarde (C{\^o}te d{\textquoteright}Azur Observatory, France), Stephen Merkowitz (NASA GFSC, United States), Gaetano Mileti (University of Neuch{\^a}tel, Switzerland), Terry Moore (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom), Juraj Papco (Slovak University of Technology, Slovakia), Roberto Peron (IAPS/INAF, Italy), Paul Rebischung (IGN/IPGP, France), Pascal Rosenblatt, LPG/CNRS (France), S{\'e}verine Rosat, ITES-EOST/CNRS (France), Matteo Luca Ruggiero, Universit{\`a} degli Studi di Torino (Italy), Alvaro Santamaria (Universit{\'e} Paul Sabatier, France), Francesco Santoli (IAPS/INAF, Italy), Feliciana Sapio (IAPS/INAF, Italy), Jaume Sanz (Universitat Polit{\`e}cnica de Catalunya, Spain), Patrick Schreiner (GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany), Erik Schoenemann (ESA/ESOC, Germany), Laurent Soudarin (CLS, France), Cosimo Stallo (Thales Alenia Space, Italy), Dariusz Strugarek (Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland), Angelo Tartaglia (INAF, Italy), Daniela Thaller (BKG, Germany), Maarten Vergauwen (KU Leuven, Belgium), Francesco Vespe (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Italy), Massimo Visco (IAPS/INAF, Italy), Jens Wickert (GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany) and Pawe{\l} Wielgosz (University of Warmia and Mazury, Poland). JB and AN are grateful to the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) for supporting this work with project P33925. Work by SD has been supported by INFN and by ASI (Italian Space Agency) under the ASI-INFN Joint Lab Agreement n. 2019-15-HH.0. The contribution of JM was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) via Collaborative Research Center CRC 1464 “TerraQ”, project-ID 434617780, and Germany{\textquoteright}s Excellence Strategy EXC 2123 “QuantumFrontiers”, project-ID 390837967. Work by SG has been supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under Grant Number SCHU 1103/8-1 (GGOS-SIM, Simulation of the Global Geodetic Observing System) and SCHU 1103/8-2 (GGOS-SIM-2). The research of VD and HS leading to some of these results has received funding from the European Research Council under ERC advanced grant 670874 (RotaNut—Rotation and Nutation of a wobbly Earth), as well as ERC synergy Grant 855677 (GRACEFUL—Gravimetry, magnetism and core flow). ",
year = "2023",
month = jan,
day = "11",
doi = "10.1186/s40623-022-01752-w",
language = "English",
volume = "75",
journal = "Earth, planets and space",
issn = "1343-8832",
publisher = "Springer International Publishing AG",
number = "1",
}