Objectives
Building on the success of the Horizon 2020 project SCARBO
Building on the success of the Horizon 2020 SCARBO project, SCARBOn is dedicated to deepening our knowledge on GHG space-monitoring contributing to climate change mitigation. With the following key objectives, SCARBOn’s aim is to put forward a new competitive technology to monitor GHG in athmosphere.
SCARBOn will have a significant technological impact on European independence in the GHG space monitoring and will offer a viable and affordable satellite constellation.
Objective 1 Technical and Industrial Definition of NanoCarb Instrument and Validation of SCARBOn Satellites' GHG Monitoring
In the SCARBOn project, the NanoCarb instrument is the key enabler of the mission. NanoCarb technology is based on a miniaturized static interferometer, offering CO2 and CH4 athmospheric concentration measurements from space. It represents a significant advancement in remote sensing technology, particularly due to its compact form, which is ideal for deployment on small satellites. Within SCARBOn, NanoCarb technical and industrial definition will be significantly upgraded to, at least, level 5 of the Technology Readiness Level (TRL).
Secondly, SCARBOn aims to validate its satellites' capability to monitor greenhouse gases by simulating the entire data retrieval process. This includes collecting raw measurements, processing the data, and estimating GHG fluxes. The end-to-end validation ensures accurate and reliable monitoring of emissions from point sources, supporting global efforts to mitigate climate change.
Objective 2 Upgraded NanoCarb Prototype Demonstration by Airborne Campaign
An airborne campaign of the upgraded NanoCarb instrument, scheduled for mid-2025, is crucial for validating its performance and calibration, ensuring reliability before satellite integration. The data obtained will refine processing algorithms and enhance GHG monitoring accuracy from space. This objective includes deploying NanoCarb and the aerosol sensor SPEXone on an aircraft to collect atmospheric GHG data across various conditions and regions, with validations conducted through an FTIR spectrometer.
Objective 3 Satellite Constelation Concept Optimisation
The SCARBOn project aims to refine the design and operational strategy of a satellite constellation capable of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions. This objective focuses on advancing the constellation concept to meet industrial implementation, including adding autonomy and configurability, ensuring the system can reliably deliver twice-daily global measurements. The enhanced constellation will support accurate and comprehensive monitoring of diurnal variations in carbon dioxide emissions, positioning it as a vital measuring tool for climate action initiatives.
SCARBOn Wider Impact
In the long run, we believe that SCARBOn results will enrich the whole European society in a number of ways:
Supporting European Climate Change Mitigation Efforts
SCARBOn is set to become a valuable asset in the European Commission's efforts for fighting climate change. Once the mission is operational, providing accurate and timely data on GHG emissions will support the development of evidence-based policies and strategies to reduce global warming and its impacts. SCARBOn mission will be able to monitor the Green Deal objective for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
Fostering the Development of Value-Added Services
The data collected by SCARBOn will not only be instrumental in climate research and policy-making but also encourage the growth of new services. These could include advanced analytics for carbon management, oil & gas industry utilisation, as well as environmental compliance services.
Securing European Autonomy in GHG Monitoring
Amidst growing non-European commercial initiatives in GHG monitoring, SCARBOn aims, in complementarity to the ongoing Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission (CO2M) of the European Space Agency, to establish a state-of-the-art European system. This ensures Europe's strategic autonomy in critical environmental monitoring technologies and contributes to global efforts in understanding and mitigating climate change.