FORUM (Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring) is an

Earth observing satellite An Earth observation satellite or Earth remote sensing satellite is a satellite used or designed for Earth observation (EO) from orbit, including spy satellites and similar ones intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, me ...

that is scheduled to launch in 2027. The FORUM mission is led by the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

(ESA) and has as its main goal the study of the Earth's radiation budget. It is expected that FORUM's measurements will be improving

climate model Numerical climate models use quantitative methods to simulate the interactions of the important drivers of climate, including atmosphere, oceans, land surface and ice. They are used for a variety of purposes from study of the dynamics of the cl ...

s and offer new insights into the way

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

is affecting the planet.

Background

On 24 September 2019, ESA announced that FORUM was selected to become the ninth Earth Explorer mission, beating the Sea surface KInematics Multiscale monitoring (SKIM) proposal following a two-year feasibility study phase. The main scientific purpose of FORUM is to better understand the Earth's radiation budget - the balance between the incoming radiation mostly from the Sun at short wavelengths, and outgoing radiation, which is a combination of reflected radiation from the Sun and radiation emitted by the Earth system, much of it a longer wavelengths - and the way this exchange is affected by the changes in the Earth's atmosphere caused by human activity. FORUM will especially be measuring the long-wavelength outgoing energy, which is strongly influenced by water vapour and thin

ice cloud An ice cloud is a colloid of ice particles dispersed in air. The term has been used to refer to clouds of both water ice and carbon dioxide ice on Mars. Such clouds can be sufficiently large and dense to cast shadows on the Martian surface. Cirru ...

s in the Earth's atmosphere. According to available data, about 50 percent of the total energy emitted by the Earth is in this long-wavelength range, but these emissions were not monitored in detail from space until now. These insights will offer a better understanding of the climatic changes taking place on Earth and improve climate predictions. According to ESA, the FORUM mission was selected over SKIM specifically because it promises to "fill in a critical missing piece of the climate jigsaw". The mission is scheduled for launch in 2027, and its budget is expected to cost a maximum of 260 million euros.

References

{{Future spaceflights Earth observation satellites of the European Space Agency Proposed satellites 2027 in spaceflight Geospace monitoring satellites European Space Agency programmes

Background

See also

References