Earthnet Data Assessment Pilot Framework

Recent availability of low-cost small satellites and innovation of constellations have resulted in an increasing number of commercial companies having established information services fed by their own satellite systems. ESA aims to foster cooperation and collaboration with not only other national agencies, but also these New Space players, inviting some missions as potential candidates for ESA's long standing Earthnet Programme. The Earthnet Data Assessment Pilot (EDAP), headed by Telespazio UK, provides a consortium of expertise to assess data quality and suitability of individual missions for this purpose. The service framework has developed a common quality assessment methodology adapted for instrument-specific domains covering Optical, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Atmospheric missions, with emphasis on multi-mission studies. This paper describes the EDAP framework and provides a summary of specific tasks performed by the service to assist the ESA Earthnet programme in supporting various commercial mission providers in preparation for future EO missions.