What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to recommend mission candidates for Phase A of the Earth Explorer 12 program focusing on polar regions' climate processes.

July 8, 2026Open Access

Phase 0 UCM Presentation for the Earth Explorer 12 Candidate Mission CryoRad

Key Points

The aim is to recommend mission candidates for Phase A of the Earth Explorer 12 program focusing on polar regions' climate processes.
Presented the CryoRad mission concept post Phase 0 preparation.
Detailed mission objectives targeting ice sheet mass loss, sea-ice thickness, and Arctic Ocean freshening.
Introduced low-frequency passive microwave measurements from 0.4 to 2 GHz.
CryoRad aims to deliver unprecedented spatial resolution for ice-sheet temperature profiles.
The mission would provide essential data on processes affecting polar regions, enhancing understanding of climate dynamics.

Abstract

This presentation forms the basis for recommending up to two mission candidates to proceed to Phase A, for the twelfth Earth Explorer mission, within the European Space Agency’s Future Earth Observation (FutureEO) Programme. It presents the CryoRad mission concept, which has successfully completed its Phase 0 preparation. CryoRad would target polar regions and their poorly understood processes, namely the acceleration of ice sheet mass loss, the reduction of sea-ice thickness and the freshening of the Arctic Ocean. The mission would, for the first time, provide low-frequency passive microwave measurements from 0.4 to 2 GHz with an unprecedented spatial resolution that allows the estimation of critical geophysical variables such as ice-sheet temperature profiles down to the bedrock.

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