EnMAP MPS: Challenges, Enhancements and Evaluations of the Early Mission Phase

Abstract

On 1st of April 2022, the EnMAP mission launched. Its satellite carries a space-born hyper-spectral imager with a resolution of 30m, an image width of 30km and a maximum swath length of 1000km. The mission will provide the scientific community with data of the state and evolution of the earth's surface and in particular its eco-system. For instance, the vegetation of areas of interest and its conditions such as moisture and nutrition balance can be identified and monitored. After a brief summary of the most important Mission Planning relevant features of the EnMAP satellite and an overview of the EnMAP Mission Planning System (MPS), this paper comprises a wrap-up of the major challenges the EnMAP Mission Planning team has faced during the first months of EnMAP operations. By design, the EnMAP MPS is a fully automated system. It should have been directly phased in after the LEOP operations had finished. However, some assumptions of the satellite proved wrong, partly because of misunderstandings, partly due to mal-functions. The measures taken to cope with this situation, in particular the semi-automated mode in which the EnMAP MPS survived the first weeks, will be described in detail. The modifications of the Mission Planning System are described, which were necessary to cope with the unexpected limitations of the satellite, before activating the fully automated mode. Being the first mission based on GSOC’s generic GSOC Reactive Planning framework, the EnMAP MPS had faced several teething troubles, in particular with respect to memory and runtime. This paper also addresses first experiences with the new "cloud component", which shall improve the collected data of optical missions. The paper also covers the challenges and benefit of the Back-to-Back-Imaging mode, which will allow merging two pictures into the same attitude maneuver, significantly reducing the minimum separation between two consecutive image acquisitions. We conclude with an outlook on how the system may be further enhanced and with lessons we learned during the first months of operations, pointing out what proved particularly helpful and what needs to be avoided or improved in future planning systems.