Preparation for Sentinel S5P and Air Quality 1

The Copernicus Sentinel 5 Precursor (S5P), scheduled for launch in 2016, is the first of the Sentinels dedicated to monitoring of the atmospheric composition. The main application areas of the mission are air quality, climate and the ozone layer. The single payload of the S5P mission is TROPOpsheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), which is developed by The Netherlands in cooperation with ESA. TROPOMI is a nadir viewing shortwave spectrometer that will measure in the UV-visible wavelength range (270-500 nm), the near infrared (710-770 nm) and the shortwave infrared (2314-2382 nm). TROPOMI will have an unprecedented spatial resolution of about 7x7 km² at nadir. The spatial resolution is combined with a wide swath to allow for daily global coverage. The high spatial resolution serves two goals: (1) emissions sources can be detected with more accuracy and (2) the number of cloud-free ground pixels will increase substantially. The TROPOMI/S5P geophysical (Level 2) data products include nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone (total column, tropospheric column & profile), methane, sulphur dioxide, formaldehyde and aerosol and cloud parameters.

In this contribution we will present the TROPOMI instrument, with a focus on performance aspects, the development of the L0-1B processor and the first results from the on-ground calibration campaign.

Sentinel-5 Precursor (S-5P) will be the first of a series of atmospheric missions to be launched within the European Commission’s Copernicus (former GMES) Programme. With a planned launch in 2016 and a nominal lifetime of 7 years S-5P is expected to provide continuity in the availability of global atmospheric data products between its predecessor missions SCIAMACHY (Envisat) and OMI (AURA) and the future Sentinel-4 and -5 series. The latter will comprise payload instruments on board the operational satellites MTG-S (S-4, geostationary component) and MetOp Second Generation (S-5, polar orbiting component), the first units of which will be launched in the 2020-2021 timeframe.

Due to its enhanced spatial, temporal and spectral sampling capabilities, as compared to its predecessors, S-5P will deliver unique data on the sources and sinks of trace gases with a focus on the lower Troposphere including the PBL. The S-5P satellite will carry a single payload, TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) which is jointly developed by The Netherlands and ESA. Covering spectral channels in the UV, visible, near- and short-wave infrared it will measure various key species including tropospheric/stratospheric ozone, NO₂, SO₂, CO, CH₄, CH₂O as well as cloud and aerosol parameters.

In order to meet the demanding accuracy requirements, in particular for the CH₄ product, routine use of cloud mask data during Level 2 processing is envisaged. For this purpose S-5P will be operated in a loose formation with NASA’s Suomi-NPP spacecraft that will carry the high-resolution cloud imaging instrument VIIRS. The S-5P spacecraft is currently undergoing an extensive validation program, with a focus on the pre-launch characterization of the TROPOMI flight model instrument. Moreover, the integration of the Ground Segment is in progress. The system level validation, following the integration of latest versions of the Level 1B and Level 2 processor components, will be completed end 2015.

The presentation will provide an overview of the S-5P mission, including the preparation status of Spacecraft and Ground Segment. Furthermore, an outline of the operational concept, with a focus on the early in-flight calibration and validation tasks will be given.

Sentinel-5 Precursor (S-5P) will be the first in a series of atmospheric composition satellites to be launched within the European Commission’s Copernicus Programme with the primary objective to provide space-borne information for the Copernicus Core Services, in particular the Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Climate Change Service (C3S). In addition, S-5P data will support a wide range of scientific topics related to atmospheric processes focussing on Air Quality, tropospheric and stratospheric ozone and climate forcing.

The mission is expected to provide continuity in the availability of global atmospheric data products between its predecessor missions GOME (ERS-2, 1995-2011), SCIAMACHY (Envisat, 2002-2012), GOME-2 (MetOP, 2006- ), OMI (AURA, 2004- ) and the future Sentinel-4 and -5 series (from 2020/2021 onwards).

The single payload of S-5P is TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument), a nadir-viewing spectrometer covering spectral channels in the UV, visible, near- and short-wave infrared, which is jointly developed by The Netherlands and ESA. The mission will operationally provide key atmospheric trace gas products, including ozone columns and profiles, tropospheric and total NO₂, SO₂, CO, CH₄, HCHO as well as cloud and aerosol parameters. S-5P will be operated in a loose formation with NOAA’s Suomi-NPP spacecraft taking advantage of the VIIRS instrument for high-resolution cloud masking to support in particular the CH₄ retrieval.

The presentation will provide an end-to-end overview of the S-5P mission operations concept that will be in place following the successful launch and commissioning of the satellite. A special focus will be given to the data access for the science community. The preparations for the geophysical validation will be outlined, including the S-5P Validation Team and corresponding ESA activities. Operational mission performance tasks, which are fundamental to secure the quality of the S-5P data products, will be presented. Finally, the opportunities for exploiting the S-5P/SNPP formation flight for scientific and operational products will be highlighted.

Detailed information on the S5-P mission will be available starting May 2015 on ESA’s Sentinel Online pages: https://sentinel.esa.int

During 2014 and 2015 the TROPOMI instrument, currently being implemented on Sentinel-5P, was calibrated on ground. We will report on the first results of the Short Wave InfraRed (SWIR) module and lessons learned.

The Sentinel 5 Precursor (S5P) mission is a sun-synchronous polar satellite system scheduled for launch in 2016. The payload of the S5P mission is the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) that will provide key information on air quality, climate and the ozone layer with high spatial resolution and daily global coverage.

We present an overview of the work being performed for the development of TROPOMI geophysical products including O₃, NO₂, SO₂, HCHO, CO, CH₄, as well as UV, cloud and aerosol properties. The European teams responsible for these activities are organized in three groups covering: (i) retrieval algorithms, (ii) scientific verification, and ultimately (iii) the data processors to be used in the ground-segment for the generation of the operational S5P products. It is planned to maintain this project organization during the complete mission in order to ensure the timely provision of state-of-science data products that are continuously improved and validated.

The work on TROPOMI/S5P geophysical products is funded by ESA and national contributions from The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Finland.