The Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) is one of the six Copernicus Expansion Missions currently being implemented by the European Space Agency and the European Commission. CIMR will provide low-frequency, high spatial resolution microwave imaging radiometry measurements with high radiometric fidelity. To address Copernicus user needs, derived Level-1 and Level2 data products will have global coverage and sub-daily revisit in the polar regions and adjacent seas. The mission is specifically designed to provide measurement evidence in support of developing, implementing, and monitoring the impact of the European Integrated Policy for the Arctic which is changing rapidly due to climate change and Arctic amplification. This paper presents an overview of the CIMR mission implementation (now in Phase C/D) and reports the latest scientific simulation developments.

The Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) is one of the six Copernicus Expansion Missions currently being implemented by the European Space Agency and the European Commission. The mission is specifically designed to provide measurement evidence in support of developing, implementing, and monitoring the impact of the European Integrated Policy for the Arctic. The Arctic region is changing more rapidly than anywhere else in the world due to climate change and Arctic amplification. CIMR provides microwave imaging radiometry measurements at low-frequency (L-,C-,X-, K- and Ka-band) with relatively high spatial resolution and high radiometric fidelity. To address Copernicus user needs, derived Level-1 and Level2 data products will have global coverage and sub-daily revisit in the polar regions and adjacent seas. This paper presents an overview of key mission requirements [11] that underpin the CIMR mission implementation (now in Phase C/D). Two satellites are now in preparation (CIMR-A and CIMR-B) to be launched sequentially separated by ~7 years starting in 2028/29.

The Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) mission is one of the six Copernicus Expansion (CopEx) Missions [1], that are part of the Copernicus Space Component being implemented by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission (COM). The mission responds to Copernicus User needs embodied in Mission Requirements [3] by providing high-spatial resolution low-frequency microwave imaging radiometry measurements and derived products. Continuous global coverage every day with sub-daily revisit in the polar regions and adjacent seas is necessary to address Copernicus user needs. The primary mission requirements [3] are to acquire global observations to address Sea Ice Concentration (SIC) and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) with secondary requirements covering a very wide number of parameters related to EU Arctic Policy. For more information about Mission requirement see [2] and [3].The mission can be considered a "game changer" for global and polar region observations, thanks to features such as•All weather, day/night imaging capability;•multi-frequency (L to Ka), simultaneous acquisitions;•Unrivaled spatial resolution (5…<60km);•Excellent radiometric accuracy/resolution and stability;•Global coverage, "no hole at the pole", sub-daily (6h) revisit.The paper provides and overview of the Project and System implementation following the successful System and Instrument Preliminary Design Review (PDR) held on October 2022.

Copernicus [http://www.copernicus.eu/] is a European system for monitoring the Earth in support of European policy. It includes Earth Observation satellites (notably the Sentinel series developed by ESA) that form part of the Copernicus Space Component of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission (COM). The Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) mission is one of six Copernicus Expansion (CopEx) Missions that address emerging and urgent needs for new types of observations and will have a particular focus on monitoring Polar regions.The primary mission objectives of CIMR [2] are to measure Sea Ice Concentration (SIC) and Sea Ice Extent (SIE) at a spatial resolution of 5 km and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) at a spatial resolution of 15 km with a focus on sub-daily coverage of Polar Regions and daily coverage of Adjacent Seas. In addition, CIMR has to ensure European operational continuity of L-band measurement capability in synergy with other missions (e.g. MetOp-SG) to enhance monitoring of the Polar Regions and Adjacent Seas.Following the successful System and Instrument Preliminary Design Review (PDR) held on October 2022, this paper focusses on the CIMR Instrument architecture and performance. For more details on the CIMR mission [2] and CIMR project, please consult [3] and [4], respectively.

The Copernicus programme [1] is a European system for monitoring the Earth in support of European policy as developed by the European Commission (COM). It includes Earth Observation (EO) satellites (notably the Sentinel series developed by the European Space Agency (ESA)) that form part of the Copernicus Space Component (CSC). The Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) mission [2] is one of six Copernicus Expansion (CopEx) Missions [3] that address emerging and urgent needs for new types of global coverage observations with a particular focus on monitoring Polar regions.

This paper describes the current status of activities and research related to a conically scanning spaceborne radar concept capable of making global measurements of wind, rain and cloud water content. The novel measurement technique is being proven by both ground-based and airborne campaigns leading to increasing confidence in the concept and resulting in clearer design requirements for the necessary RF hardware developments.

This paper presents the results of a recent flight campaign conducted over the Great Lakes region and reports the first observations of the W-band normalized backscattered cross section ($\sigma _{0}$) for V and H polarization and the linear depolarization ratios (LDRs) from different types of surfaces at moderate incidence angles ($\sigma _{0}$behaves as previously reported at small incidence angles, it features a marked decrease with increasing incidence angles between 20° and 50°. There is a strong dependence of normalized backscattered cross sections both on the wind speed and on the wind direction, with larger values found in the presence of higher wind speeds and when the radar antenna is looking upwind. This is in line with theoretical models (though models tend to overpredict the range of variability at a given incidence angle) and with observations at lower frequencies. The LDRs are steadily increasing from values certainly lower than −30 dB, at vertical incidence, to the values of about −10 dB, at the incidence angles of about 60°–70°, with a good matching between observations and theoretical predictions. On the other hand, land surface backscattering properties are not characterized by a strong angular dependence:$\sigma _{0}$and LDR values typically range between −20 and 0 dB and between −15 and −5 dB, respectively. This paper is relevant for spaceborne concepts of W-band radars, which envisage moderate incidence angles to achieve a broad swath needed for global coverage.

Satellite radio for vehicles is normally hampered by the problem of the shadowing of the line-of-sight between satellite and receiver. One possible way to overcome this challenge is to provide a new type of radio service, hereafter referred to as personalized satellite radio, in alternative to the streaming approach used for traditional radio: individual audio and multimedia files are broadcasted instead of transmitting a number of distinct continuous streams. The received files are stored in a large cache located in the receiver of each mobile terminal and are sequentially played to generate a service similar to traditional radio/entertainment programmes. The resulting file-based radio approach makes use of higher-layer coding on transport level, to ensure a sufficient file transfer reliability even when some packets are lost due to the shadowing of the line-of-sight path, and of smart techniques to build up an audible programme with no interruptions and full audio quality based upon the available files. The paper presents this novel radio concept and the results of extensive trials which were conducted with a system test-bed developed in the framework of an ESA funded project.