The ESA mission GENESIS (launch around 2028) will be the first mission to combine all four space geodetic techniques – DORIS, GNSS, SLR and VLBI – on a single satellite. A particularly innovative feature is the planned integration of a VLBI transmitter on the satellite that can be observed by VLBI telescopes on Earth. This combination of techniques should make it possible to detect systematic errors between the techniques.
The aim of the mission is to improve the realisation of global terrestrial reference frames. Reference frames are an essential basis for Earth observation and subsequent applications, such as monitoring sea levels. The accuracy requirements were defined by the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) and aim for a positioning accuracy of 1 mm and a long-term stability of 0.1 mm per year for the reference frame defining parameters. The importance of this goal was also stated in a United Nations resolution.
In cooperation with the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) and the Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut at Technical University of Munich (DGFI-TUM) GFZ is conducting simulations that will provide essential insights for the planning and success of the GENESIS satellite mission. In addition, the work includes improvements of the scheduling and simulations of satellite observations by VLBI and the integration of methods for innovative VLBI observations.
The GFZ contributes its long-standing expertise in the field and its internationally recognised software solutions such as EPOS-OC to the project. This software is continuously being developed to process the complex data from the mission. The GENESIS-D project thus lays the foundation for determining the best possible global reference frames with the first complete Space Tie Mission in the future.
Project partners:
- Section 1.2, GFZ
- Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG)
- Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut at Technical University of Munich (DGFI-TUM)
Project Duration:
- 2025-2028
Funding:
- German Space Agency at DLR
Project-related Publications:
Delva, P., Altamimi, Z., Blazquez, A., et al. (2023). GENESIS: co-location of geodetic techniques in space. Earth, Planets and Space, 75(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-022-01752-w
Neumayer KH, Schreiner P, König R, Dahle C, Glaser S, Mammadaliyev N, Flechtner F (2024) EPOS-OC, a universal software tool for satellite geodesy at GFZ. In: Freymueller J, Sánchez L (eds) Proceedings of the IAG Symposia at IUGG Berlin. Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/1345_2024_260
Schuh, H., Heinkelmann, R., Beyerle, G., Anderson, J. M., Balidakis, K., Belda, S., ... & Xu, M. H. (2021). The Potsdam open source radio interferometry tool (PORT). Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 133(1028), 104503.