isardSAT will participate in the development of the CRISTAL (Copernicus polaR Ice and Snow Topography ALtimeter) mission. Airbus Defence and Space GmbH is prime contractor for the satellite, with Thales Alenia Space as instrument prime, and isardSAT as prime contractor for the System and Instrument Retrieval Simulator and Ground Processor Prototype. isardSAT had already participated in 2019 Phase A/B1 preparatory study for this mission.

The mission, aims at measuring and monitoring sea-ice thickness and overlying snow depth, as well as changes in surface elevation in glaciers, ice caps, and the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets by means of its radar altimeter. While measurements of sea-ice thickness would support maritime operations in polar oceans and, in the longer term, would help in the planning of activities in the polar regions, monitoring changes in ice sheets helps to track the stability of the ice sheets and its impact on sea-level rise, which is essential to fully assess, predict and adapt to climate variability and change.

The Interferometric Radar Altimeter for Ice and Snow (IRIS) processors include Fully Focussed and Swath processing capabilities in addition to the classical Delay Doppler Processing and Low Resolution methods.

See how CRISTAL is going to look like.

Go to ESA News.