After signing a Letter of Intent last year during the Netherlands-France economic year, SRON and CNES have defined their joined interests in a white paper. In collaboration with national research partners. They will collaborate on monitoring greenhouse gases, air quality, key pollutants and aerosols.
The space research institutes from The Netherlands and France – SRON and CNES – have a long history of working together. Even back in the 1960s, they launched an X-ray experiment on a Véronique rocket in the Sahara desert. This was succeeded by other astronomical missions. Now they are extending this collaboration into Earth Observation.
To reach their collaborative goals, research groups from both institutes will jointly work on a concrete set of efforts. For example, calculating emissions of CO2 and methane from satellite measurements of concentrations. And global mapping of air quality through thermal infrared instruments and satellites using a broad wavelength range from UV to short-wave infrared. The white paper further lists agricultural ammonia emissions, wildfire emissions, and the role of aerosols and clouds in extreme precipitation as priorities.