Paco Lopez Dekker: Harmony in the Wadden

An important milestone in the preparation of ESA’s tenth Earth Explorer candidate satellite mission, Harmony, has been reached thanks to two aircraft flying in tight formation over the Dutch Wadden Islands collecting key data on sea state and currents. The main purpose of this tricky airborne experiment is to mimic the geometry at which the Harmony satellites will measure various aspects of ocean dynamics to understand how air and the ocean surface interact, which, in turn, will improve weather prediction and climate models.

The Harmony candidate mission concept is currently undergoing the last stages of preparation prior to being put forward as the Earth Explorer 10 flagship mission. A User Consultation Meeting will be held on 5 July 2022, after which a decision on implementation of the mission is expected in September.

Developed within ESA’s FutureEO programme, Earth Explorers are pioneering research missions that show how new measuring techniques can lead to new scientific findings about our planet. Advancing science and technology, they address questions that have direct bearings on societal issues such as the availability of food, water, energy and resources, public health and climate change.

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