GEROS-ISS: GNSS REflectometry, Radio Occultation, and Scatterometry Onboard the International Space Station

• Main Authors: Jens Wickert, Estel Cardellach, Manuel Martin-Neira, Jorge Bandeiras, Laurent Bertino, Ole Baltazar Andersen, Adriano Camps, Nuno Catarino, Bertrand Chapron, Fran Fabra, Nicolas Floury, Giuseppe Foti, Christine Gommenginger, Jason Hatton, Per Hoeg, Adrian Jaggi, Michael Kern, Tong Lee, Zhijin Li, Hyuk Park, Nazzareno Pierdicca, Gerhard Ressler, Antonio Rius, Josep Rosello, Jan Saynisch, Francois Soulat, C. K. Shum, Maximilian Semmling, Ana Sousa, Jiping Xie, Cinzia Zuffada
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 2016-01-01
• Series: IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
• Subjects: Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) reflectometry; GNSS radio occultation; international space station; mean sea level; mesoscale ocean currents
• Online Access: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7676478/

GEROS-ISS stands for GNSS REflectometry, radio occultation, and scatterometry onboard the International Space Station (ISS). It is a scientific experiment, successfully proposed to the European Space Agency in 2011. The experiment as the name indicates will be conducted on the ISS. The main focus of GEROS-ISS is the dedicated use of signals from the currently available Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) in L-band for remote sensing of the Earth with a focus to study climate change. Prime mission objectives are the determination of the altimetric sea surface height of the oceans and of the ocean surface mean square slope, which is related to sea roughness and wind speed. These geophysical parameters are derived using reflected GNSS signals (GNSS reflectometry, GNSS-R). Secondary mission goals include atmosphere/ionosphere sounding using refracted GNSS signals (radio occultation, GNSS-RO) and remote sensing of land surfaces using GNSS-R. The GEROS-ISS mission objectives and its design, the current status, and ongoing activities are reviewed and selected scientific and technical results of the GEROS-ISS preparation phase are described.