GRACE Follow-On and Potential Successors: Mission Options for the Upcoming Decadaes
Abstract
The GRACE Follow-On mission is currently scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2018, providing a successor to GRACE for ongoing critical measurements of Earth's time varying mass distribution for the coming decade. As noted in the literature (and in several talks in this session), there are also several possible mission proposals and technologies to either augment or succeed GRACE FO for extended and improved measurements. Various scientific, programmatic, and technical issues drive each of these potential missions and these factors will be important in determining which will ultimately be selected for flight. These issues include accuracy requirements based on science goals, technical maturity, cost, and international partnership options. In this talk, we will provide a final detailed update before launch on the GRACE Follow-On status and expectations, and we will outline several of the key options for future missions after GRACE FO.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFM.G21C..06W
- Keywords:
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- 1214 Geopotential theory and determination;
- GEODESY AND GRAVITY;
- 1217 Time variable gravity;
- GEODESY AND GRAVITY;
- 1225 Global change from geodesy;
- GEODESY AND GRAVITY;
- 1241 Satellite geodesy: technical issues;
- GEODESY AND GRAVITY