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Satellite Missions Catalogue

LSTM (Land Surface Temperature Monitoring) Copernicus

Nov 16, 2020

EO

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ESA

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Imaging multi-spectral radiometers (vis/IR)

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Land

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LSTM (Land Surface Temperature Monitoring) is an ESA mission developed by Airbus Defense and Space, set to join the Copernicus Sentinel system in 2028. The satellite will have Thermal Infrared (TIR) observation capabilities over land and coastal regions in support of agriculture management services, and possibly a range of additional services. The LSTM mission will consists of two satellites, LSTM-A and LSTM-B.

Quick facts

Overview

Mission typeEO
AgencyESA, COM
Mission statusApproved
Measurement domainLand
Measurement categorySurface temperature (land)
Measurement detailedLand surface temperature
InstrumentsLand Surface Temperature Radiometer
Instrument typeImaging multi-spectral radiometers (vis/IR)
CEOS EO HandbookSee LSTM (Land Surface Temperature Monitoring) Copernicus summary

Land Surface Temperature Monitoring (LSTM) satellite (Image credit: ESA)


 

Summary

Mission Capabilities

The optical instrument of LSTM, Land Surface Temperature Radiometer, will acquire high spatio-temporal resolution observations of all land and coastal areas with high radiometric accuracy. 

The mission’s primary objectives are to monitor evapotranspiration (ET) rates by capturing the variability of Land Surface Temperature (LST), as well as map and monitor soil composition. LSTM also has a range of TIR observational applications including coastal zone management, and monitoring of High-Temperature Events (HTE) and urban heat islands.

Performance Specifcations

The TIR instrument on LSTM (Land Surface Temperature Radiometer) is currently under development by the European Commision, and will operate in Very Near Infrared (VNIR), Short Wave Infrared (SWIR), and Thermal Infrared (TIR) spectral bands. The instrument has a spatial resolution of 50 m, making observations covering a wide temperature range, from approximately -20°C to 30°C with a precision of 0.3°C. The imager can provide daily measurements from five bands in the TIR spectral range 8 - 12.5 μm complemented by bands in the visible and NIR.

LSTM will operate in a low-Earth polar orbit, with a four day revisit period. The mission will map the surface temperature of Earth and rates of evapotranspiration every 1 - 3 days, at 400 times finer resolution than currently measured from space.

Space and Hardware Components

LSTM is Copernicus Space Component (CSC) High Priority Candidate Mission (HPCM), currently undergoing an ESA preparatory phase study to establish mission feasibility. LSTM improves upon Sentinel-3, which currently provides global LST measurements at a limited spatial resolution of 1 km, by creating field-scale observation capabilities at 50 m resolution. 

Airbus Defense and Space has been contracted by ESA for the LSTM mission, as one of six new missions to join the CSC. The contract includes the development of one LSTM satellite, with an option for two further satellites.

LSTM Copernicus (Land Surface Temperature Monitoring) mission

Status     References

LSTM is a next generation ESA mission within the Copernicus program to complement Sentinel observation capabilities with high spatio-temporal resolution TIR (Thermal Infrared) observations over land and coastal regions in support of agriculture management services,and possibly a range of additional applications and services consisting of two satellites LSTM-A and LSTM-B. The primary objective is to enable monitoring the evapotranspiration (ET) rate at European field scale by capturing the variability of Land Surface Temperature (LST) (and hence derived ET) allowing more robust estimates of field-scale water productivity. 1)

Evolution in the Copernicus Space Component (CSC) is foreseen in the mid-2020s to meet priority Copernicus user needs not addressed by the existing infrastructure, and/or to reinforce services by monitoring capability in the thematic domains of CO2, polar, and agriculture/forestry. This evolution will be synergetic with the enhanced continuity of services for the next generation of CSC.

The LSTM (High Spatio-Temporal Resolution Land Surface Temperature Monitoring) Mission”, identified as one of the CSC Expansion High Priority Candidate Missions (HPCM), currently undergoes an ESA preparatory phase (phase A/B1) study to establish mission feasibility.

The LSTM mission shall provide enhanced measurements of land surface temperature with a focus responding to user requirements related to agricultural monitoring.

The existing Copernicus space infrastructure, in particular Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2, already provides useful information for agricultural applications. Although Sentinel- 3 already provides global LST measurements, the limited 1km spatial resolution does not capture the field-scale variability required for irrigation, crop growth modelling and reporting on crop water productivity. In view of the foreseen evolution in Copernicus, additional high-level observation requirements have been assessed and discussed at the EC Copernicus Agriculture and Forestry User Requirement Workshop in 2016, revealing the lack of European spaceborne capability for providing high spatio-temporal resolution Thermal Infrared (TIR) observations. 2)

Therefore, a dedicated LSTM mission is foreseen in the frame of the Copernicus evolution with the overall objective: "to complement Sentinel observation capabilities with high spatio-temporal resolution Thermal Infrared observations over land and coastal regions in support of agriculture management services, and possibly a range of additional services".

The LSTM mission would deploy one or more satellites equipped with TIR instruments optimized to support agriculture management services with the specific mission objectives below. Based on the European and international policies the mission objectives are specified as:

• Primary objective: to support monitoring evapotranspiration (ET) rate at European field scale by capturing the variability of Land Surface Temperature (LST) (and hence ET) enabling more robust estimates of field-scale water productivity.

• Secondary objective: to support mapping and monitoring the soil composition (mineralogy and organic matter) and its dynamics through emissivity estimates.

• Complementary objective: to support a range of additional services benefitting from TIR observations (e.g. coastal zone management, High-Temperature Events (HTE), urban heat islands).

This Copernicus candidate mission will map every 1-3 days the surface temperature of planet Earth and rates of evapotranspiration – the water vapor emitted by growing plants – at 400 times finer resolution than currently measured from space. It will have a low-Earth polar orbit, with each pixel in its radiometer’s field of view representing a square of size 50 meters. The overpass time will be early afternoon and it will provide daily measurements from five bands in the thermal infrared spectral range 8 - 12.5 µm complemented by bands in the visible and near-infrared. ESA will provide level 2 data (with various corrections and calibrations applied) for land surface temperature, emissivity and bottom of atmosphere surface reflectance per spectral band, total column water vapor and cloud mask information, as well as lower-level products. 3)

Accurately tracking Earth’s temperature using satellite-derived information helps to explain the physics at the land-surface, including the processes driving energy and moisture exchange with the overlying atmosphere. Monitoring and understanding drought, changes in vegetation, heatwaves, urban heat island effects and the stability and extent of permafrost will all benefit from these data. The mission is focussed on addressing the priority requirements of the agricultural user community for improving sustainable productivity at the field-scale in a world of increasing water scarcity and variability caused by climate change. In particular, the daily evapotranspiration measures provided by LSTM will help farmers to manage irrigation regimes and optimize yield with minimum water supplies. LSTM’s thermal infrared sensing ability will also apply to sea and lake surface temperature monitoring: its high spatial resolution will be particularly useful for tracking small features such as lakes in the Arctic, coastal zones, rivers, coral reefs, ocean upwellings and structures such as oceanic eddies that influence vertical transport of nutrients, crucial for ocean productivity. In an urban context, LSTM will inform planning and ‘climate-adaptive’ building design to deal with heatwaves.

 

Figure 1: Images from JPL’s experimental ECOSTRESS mission, demonstrating future applications of the LSTM mission: latent heat flux from irrigated fields near Barrax, Spain in August 2018, and high urban surface temperatures in Rome, Italy during the heat wave of June 2019 (image credit: NASA/JPL)
Figure 1: Images from JPL’s experimental ECOSTRESS mission, demonstrating future applications of the LSTM mission: latent heat flux from irrigated fields near Barrax, Spain in August 2018, and high urban surface temperatures in Rome, Italy during the heat wave of June 2019 (image credit: NASA/JPL)



 

Mission Status

• November 13, 2020: Airbus Defence and Space has been chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA) as the prime contractor for the Land Surface Temperature Monitoring (LSTM) mission, a key component of the Copernicus Earth observation program. Valued at €380 million, the contract includes the development of one LSTM satellite, with an option for two more. Through an advanced technology instrument developed in Toulouse, LSTM aims to provide high-resolution day- and night-time land surface temperature measurements globally, addressing needs in agriculture, water resource management, and climate monitoring. Leveraging innovations from previous missions like TRISHNA, the instrument will acquire images in multiple spectrums to enable comprehensive monitoring of land surface temperature and evapotranspiration. Operating from a low-Earth, polar orbit, the satellite will map individual fields every three days at 50 m resolution, enhancing our understanding of environmental changes and supporting sustainable agricultural practices. 4) 5)

Figure 2: Artist's rendition of the deployed LSTM spacecraft (image credit: Airbus)
Figure 2: Artist's rendition of the deployed LSTM spacecraft (image credit: Airbus)

Update on the Sentinel Satellites

The European Space Agency (ESA) has approved plans for an extensive expansion of the Copernicus Earth observation program, allocating a budget of €14.5 billion over the next three years. This initiative aims to enhance Europe's Earth observation capability by introducing six new high-priority Sentinel missions, each offering advanced sensing capabilities. These missions include monitoring anthropogenic CO2 emissions, land surface temperature, sea ice thickness, sea surface temperature, land cover mapping, agricultural management, and soil moisture monitoring. The expansion of the Sentinel system will provide crucial data for various applications such as precision farming, environmental hazards monitoring, weather forecasting, and climate resilience, contributing significantly to sustainability and climate science efforts.

The new Sentinel missions will address key challenges in sustainability and climate science by improving our understanding of large-scale environmental changes caused by natural and human activities. For instance, the Copernicus Anthropogenic CO2 Monitoring (CO2M) mission will help track individual sources of CO2 emissions, aiding in emissions reduction efforts and assessing the effectiveness of climate policies. Additionally, missions like Copernicus PolaR Ice and Snow Topography ALtimeter (CRISTAL) and Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) will monitor changes in the Arctic and provide critical data on sea ice thickness and extent. These missions will not only support the UN Sustainable Development Goals by providing empirical evidence for informed decision-making but also contribute to mitigating the impacts of climate change on food security, water resources, ecosystems, and human societies.

 


References

1) Benjamin Koetz,Wim Bastiaanssen,Michael Berger,Joris Blommaert,Pierre Defourney,Umberto DelBello,Matthias Drusch,Mark Drinkwater,Ricardo Duca,Valerie Fernandez,Ferran Gascon,Darren Ghent,Radoslaw Guzinski,Jippe Hoogeveen,Simon Hook,Yann Kerr,Jean-Pierre Lagouarde,Ilias Manolis,Philippe Martimort,Andrea Marini,Jeff Masek,Michel Massart,Massimo Mementi,Claudia Notarnicola,Marcello Sallusti,Inge Sandholt,Jose Sobrino,Peter Strobl,Thomas Udelhoven, ”High Spatio- Temporal Resolution Land Surface Temperature Mission - a Copernicus Candidate Mission in Support of Agricultural Monitoring,” IGARSS 2018 (IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium), 22-27 July 2018, Valencia, Spain, URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20220808212453/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8517433

2) Joseph G. Alfieri, Martha C. Anderson, William P. Kustas, & Carmelo Cammalleri, 2017. “Effect of the revisit interval and temporal upscaling methods on the accuracy of remotely sensed evapotranspiration estimates.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Volume 21(1) 2017, pp: 83–98, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-83-2017

3) ”Plans for a New Wave of European Sentinel Satellites,” ESA, 2020, URL: https://futureearth.org
/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/issuebrief_04_03.pdf

4) ”Airbus wins ESA’s LSTM temperature-check mission for Copernicus next generation,” Airbus Press Release, 13 November 2020, URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20210928131011/https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2020/11/airbus-wins-esas-lstm-temperaturecheck-mission-for-copernicus-next-generation.html

5) ”Contracts signed for three high-priority environmental missions,” ESA Applications, 13 November 2020, URL: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/
Copernicus/Contracts_signed_for_three_high-priority_environmental_missions

6) ”Plans for a New Wave of European Sentinel Satellites,” ESA, 2020, URL: https://futureearth.org
/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/issuebrief_04_03.pdf

 


 

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