The European Space Agency has outlined an updated roadmap for FutureEO ahead of its Ministerial Council 2025, setting priorities across science, missions, and downstream impact. The plan emphasizes continuity of Europe’s Earth observation leadership while advancing two standout missions: the Next Generation Gravity Mission (NGGM) and the newly selected WIVERN Earth Explorer. The overview precedes ESA Member States’ funding decisions due in November.
FutureEO restructured into three pillars
ESA is organizing FutureEO into a model designed to accelerate mission delivery and translate data into actionable insights:
- Foundations: Prepares next-generation science, technologies, and mission concepts, building risk reduction into early phases.
- Missions and Data: Develops, launches, and operates satellites while ensuring reliable, accessible, and evolving data products.
- Earth Action: Focuses on near-term societal outcomes, integrating the Climate Change Initiative, EO for Society, and Global Development Assistance to support decision-making and policy implementation.
Earth Explorer heritage and New Space elements
Seven Earth Explorer research missions have flown, with four more in development, including WIVERN. The series has pioneered technologies later adopted by operational systems. Copernicus CRISTAL, for example, builds on CryoSat heritage, while the Copernicus CO2 Monitoring mission draws on the CarbonSat candidate concept.
FutureEO also incorporates fast-turnaround “Scout” missions to complement larger satellites. The first, HydroGNSS, is scheduled for launch in the coming weeks and will test an innovative approach to derive key hydrological and climate variables.
NGGM within the ESA–NASA MAGIC constellation
NGGM will comprise two identical satellites forming one of the satellite pairs in the joint ESA–NASA MAGIC constellation, alongside the NASA–DLR GRACE-C mission. By measuring changes in Earth’s gravity field over time, NGGM will track mass redistribution in the Earth system. The data are expected to improve understanding of groundwater depletion, ice mass change, ocean circulation, and other climate-linked processes critical to resource management and risk assessment.
WIVERN to fill a key atmospheric gap
WIVERN is the eleventh Earth Explorer selected for implementation. It will provide the first global measurements of wind within clouds and deliver information on cloud internal structure, including profiles of droplets, rain, snow, and ice water. With an exceptionally wide swath, WIVERN aims for near-daily coverage over large regions, addressing a known gap in the global observing system and supporting improved weather and climate analyses.
Programmatic focus ahead of 2025 decisions
ESA’s proposal positions FutureEO to maintain Europe’s independent access to high-quality environmental data and to support industrial competitiveness. Key actions under consideration include:
- Implementation of NGGM within MAGIC and full mission preparation.
- Advancement of WIVERN through development toward launch.
- Consolidation of the three-pillar structure to streamline science-to-operations pathways.
- Integration of the Climate Change Initiative, EO for Society, and Global Development Assistance into Earth Action for targeted societal impact.
- Continued maturation of Earth Explorer candidates and complementary Scout missions such as HydroGNSS.
The roadmap underscores a full life-cycle approach, from scientific requirements to mission operations and downstream services, aligned with European and global policy priorities. Details are available in ESA’s overview: FutureEO at ESA’s Ministerial Council 2025.
