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Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed an amendment to its CO2M contract, worth 88 million euros, with the space segment prime contractor OHB System. This amendment provides for the development of the payload for the third satellite in the CO2M Copernicus mission, in addition to the first two satellites payloads that are currently under integration. Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space Programme. It provides accurate, timely and easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security for the benefit of all European citizens. The CO2M mission as part of the Copernicus Programme is developed by the European Space Agency with a co-funding made by the European Union and the European Space Agency.
The signature of this amendment marks a significant milestone in the pursuit of the CO2M mission to develop a European anthropogenic greenhouse gas monitoring capability. Following the awarding of the CO2M contract in 2020 for the development of the first two satellites of this mission, ESA has renewed its confidence in OHB System and Thales Alenia Space to provide a third satellite and payload. With this additional satellite, the CO2M constellation will further consolidate its operations, while enhancing the accuracy of CO2 measurements thanks to greater repeatability of acquisitions (more than 3 times a week at European latitudes).
The goal of the CO2M mission is to measure human-induced atmospheric carbon dioxide (and methane). These measurements will reduce current uncertainties in estimates of emissions of carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels at sub-continental scales. This will provide the European Union with a unique and independent source of information to assess the effectiveness of public policies, and to track their impact on decarbonizing Europe and meeting national emissions reduction targets.
“We are proud to pursue the development of the Copernicus CO2M mission alongside the European Commission, ESA and OHB System,” said Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space. “The CO2M mission is unique and marks an important milestone in European leadership with regards to climate change and greenhouse gases reduction. Thales Alenia Space will continue to bring its flight-proven Earth Observation expertise to this mission, which is essential to meeting the ambitious goal of measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by human activities.”
Each CO2M satellite’s payload includes three instruments:
• A combined CO2/NO2 (carbon dioxide/nitrogen dioxide) instrument based on a near-infrared and shortwave-infrared spectrometer provided by Thales Alenia Space in France;
• A Multi-Angle Polarimeter (MAP) based on four identical cameras, contained in a dedicated optical unit, provided by Thales Alenia Space in France;
• A Cloud Imager (CLIM), derived from the flight-proven Proba-V instrument, provided by OIP Sensor Systems in Belgium.
CO2M will measure images of atmospheric columns of CO2 with the resolution, accuracy, time sampling and spatial coverage required to provide the key space component inputs of the Operational Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions Monitoring & Verification Support (MVS) Capacity.
The atmospheric measurements made by the combination of satellites and in-situ networks, especially CO2M, will provide Europe with a unique operational capability that will contribute to the global monitoring of fossil CO2 emissions[1], meaning CO2 emissions arising from anthropogenic activities, add carbon in the climate system with a huge impact on climate change.
More about industrial contributions
As prime contractor, OHB System is leading an industrial consortium including Thales Alenia Space and OIP Sensors to build the CO2M instruments. Thales Alenia Space in France is responsible for developing the CO2/NO2 Instruments and Multi-angular Polarimeters for the CO2M satellites. Thales Alenia Space in Spain will provide the S-band transponder (SBT) and the Instrument Control Unit (ICU), Thales SESO will provide key optical elements of the CO2/NO2 spectrometers (collimator mirrors and imagers optics), and Thales Alenia Space in Switzerland the telescope of the CO2/NO2 instrument.
[1] Sum of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion, process CO2 emissions from cement production, process CO2 emissions from metal (ferrous and non-ferrous) production, CO2 emissions from urea production, urea application and agricultural lime, emissions from the combustion of biofuel (carbon-neutral over one year) and from land use, land-use change and forestry (including large-scale biomass burning of forest or peat fires).
About Thales Alenia Space
Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately €2.2 billion in 2023 and has around 8,600 employees in 8 countries, with 16 sites in Europe.
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