In the context of Earth Observation missions the development of end-to-end simulators (E2ES) has proven to be a useful tool to assess the mission performance and support the consolidation of the technical requirements and conceptual design, as well as to allow end-users assessing the fulfillment of requirements by the mission. For Space Science missions the development of performance simulators is not as extended, and it is usually done externally to the Agency, directly by the scientific community, and mostly for independent instrument chains

Biomass burning is a key Earth system process, a major element of the terrestrial carbon cycle and a globally highly significant source of certain atmospheric trace gases and (primarily fine mode) aerosols. Natural and anthropogenic biomass burning occurs on all continents except Antarctica, with an estimated average of 3.5 - 4.5 million km2 of vegetation burnt in global wildfires each year (though this does not include the very large numbers of "small" agricultural fires that are difficult to map using current coarse spatial resolution remote sensing datasets).

Ocean Surface Current is one of the most important ocean properties for oceanographers and operators in the maritime domain. Improved monitoring of ocean currents is systematically the number one requirement that emerges from any science or end user requirement surveys. Wavemill is a novel hybrid interferometric SAR system first proposed by ESA/ESTEC [Buck, 2005]. It offers the possibility of generating two-dimensional wide swath, high resolution, high precision maps of surface current vectors and ocean topography [Buck et al., 2009].

The SIROCCO study was performed under ESA guidance by a consortium led by NOVELTIS and including four partners: ULB (Belgium), IASB-BIRA (Belgium), SRON (Netherlands) and IAPS (Italy). The goal of the study was to review in a multidisciplinary context (Earth Observation and Planetary Science) the status of existing retrieval algorithms and to extend their capabilities when applied to remote sensing data collected (or to be collected in the near future) by instruments in orbit around the planets Earth and Mars, with atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4) as specific targets.

The study combined hydrologic models with multi-spectral remote sensing informationto assess the consistency of the water allocation with the actual irrigated area and crop water requirements (CWR) by refining algorithms for Irrigation Performance Indicators (IPI's). It evaluated thefrequency and continuity of monitoring CWR using medium / high spatial resolution satellite data.

This report compares the needs of Arctic stakeholders (as articulated in policies and strategies) with the contribution different types of satellite technologies (communications, weather, navigation, earth observation, surveillance, and science) can make to meet current and future requirements. It will help the European Space Agency (ESA) understand Arctic issues, increase the synergy between ESA activities and Arctic initiatives, and assist ESA in preparing relevant Arctic related programme proposals to meet future requirements. The Arctic is changing.