A look back on the year so far

As we pass the mid-year point, it’s a good time to look at the exciting new programmes that we are starting in 2020, including major space exploration and climate missions. Despite recent events, Airbus Space has kept its focus on what it does best: cutting edge space technology development. 

In April, we kicked off work on the Franco-Indian Trishna climate monitoring instrument, for the French Space Agency (CNES). Trishna will improve our understanding of the water cycle and management of water resources, to better assess the impacts of climate change, especially at local levels.

Trishna infrared climate monitoring

Last week, the European Space Agency revealed that we will be leading the European part of the most innovative and exciting Mars mission to date – the Earth Return Orbiter that will return the first ever samples from Mars, collecting samples left behind by NASA’s Perseverance rover that lifted off on its journey to the Red Planet just a few days ago.

What’s more, in June we started the next study phase for the Sample Fetch Rover (SFR), the autonomous vehicle which will collect the samples left behind by Perseverance, which draws on the experience we’ve gained on the ExoMars rover – now set for launch in 2022.

Sample Fetch Rover ? NASA/JPL/Caltech

On the climate monitoring side, I am proud to say that Airbus has been selected for Europe’s incredibly important Copernicus missions: the Land Surface Temperature Monitoring (LSTM) mission that will provide observations for sustainable agriculture and drought forecasting, the Polar Ice and Snow Topographic Mission (CRISTAL) which will measure and monitor sea-ice thickness and snow depth and the ROS-L radar payload that will see through vegetation to support forest management and monitor subsidence and soil moisture.

? ESA

Last month also brought great news for our Telecoms business. We announced the award of a fourth OneSat satellite, for our new customer, the Australian operator Optus. OneSat is revolutionising the market with its ability to reallocate coverage or change mission in orbit – a key asset in today’s changing world.

Last but not least, we were honoured by the UK Ministry of Defence’s award for Skynet 6A, signed in July, which will extend and enhance the Skynet fleet. It is a clear demonstration of our strong working partnership, built on the success we have jointly achieved on the Skynet 5 system since 2003.

I am extremely proud of all that we have achieved at Airbus Space so far this year, especially given the current additional challenges of COVID – my thanks to our employees for their unstinting commitment and to partners and customers for their continued trust in us.

Looking forward to more great Space projects in the second half of the year – stay tuned!

Stay safe and enjoy the summer.