UC San Diego-led EDGE satellite mission selected by NASA

NASA selected a University of California San Diego-led satellite mission for the Earth System Explorers program. The Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer, or EDGE, is led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography glaciologist Helen Amanda Fricker. It is one of two next-generation missions chosen under the program. The mission will advance observations of land, vegetation, ice and coastal regions. It will be the first NASA satellite mission led by UC San Diego and the first global satellite imaging laser altimeter system. Laser altimetry sends laser pulses to Earth's surface and records the time they take to return. This technology enables high-resolution, three-dimensional observations of terrestrial ecosystems and surface features of glaciers, ice sheets and sea ice. The selected missions have readiness dates expected no earlier than 2030. Each has an estimated cost not to exceed 355 million dollars, not including launch. EDGE will be the first swath-mapping lidar in space. It will map the planet using five 120-meter-wide strips that provide higher resolution and accuracy than previous missions. The mission builds on heritage from the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation and ICESat-2. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will serve as the implementing center. Fricker has worked on NASA satellite missions since 1999. She was a member of the ICESat Science Team and is the current science team lead for ICESat-2. The EDGE team includes 25 scientists and engineers from institutions around the world. Leadership includes deputy principal investigator John Armston of the University of Maryland, instrument principal investigator Bryan Blair and project scientist Scott Luthcke of NASA Goddard. With this selection the mission will advance to the next phase of development. Each mission will undergo a confirmation review in 2027. The spacecraft will be a Lanteris 500 series model from Lanteris Space Systems, a subsidiary of Intuitive Machines.