Teledyne e2v Space Imaging, part of Teledyne Technologies, is pleased to announce that it has signed a formal agreement to be part of the UK-led climate change TRUTHS mission.

The agreement was signed yesterday at the United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with The UK Space Agency, The European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus.

Part of The European Space Agency’s Earth Watch programme, The TRUTHS consortium will create a space-based climate and calibration observatory that will improve confidence in climate change forecasts and support net zero mitigation strategies and their impact. The mission will collect the most accurate measurements of energy coming into the Earth from the Sun, and light reflected off the Earth’s surface, to help understand global warming and humanity’s impact on the planet.

Following on from the initial study-phase, Teledyne e2v Space Imaging have been contracted to supply the TRUTHS hyperspectral sensor, and for the full design, manufacture and Technology Readiness Level (TRL) raising activities of the associated front-end electronics. These are the critical technologies of the Hyperspectral Imaging Spectrometer (HIS) which will acquire Earth, Sun and Moon radiation measurements across the whole spectral range, from ultraviolet to infrared.

Teledyne’s capabilities in hyperspectral and infrared materials and detectors is considered world class and the only solution available to meet the demanding performance requirements. Furthermore, Teledyne e2v designs and produces the range of hyperspectral detectors at its Space Imaging facility in Chelmsford, Essex, UK, where it has delivered on more than 250 space missions over the past 30+ years.

Antonino Spatola, Business Development, Sales and Marketing Director at Teledyne e2v Space Imaging, said: 

“We are proud to work with The European Space Agency (ESA), The UK Space Agency, and Airbus on the important climate change TRUTHS mission. Our sensor and electronics onboard TRUTHS will be the enabling technology of this space-based metrology laboratory for climate change forecasting and play a key role in giving climate decision-makers confidence in climate data gathered from space. This is also a testament to the capabilities and skills in the UK Space sector and it is important that together our work at Teledyne e2v makes the world a better place for future generations.”

Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, who was at COP28, said: 

“This a major milestone for the TRUTHS mission and fantastic news for our world-leading Earth observation sector. The mission will play a vital role in improving how we monitor climate change using satellite data and supporting the decisive climate action which global nations are negotiating at COP28. But TRUTHS is more than something to monitor the planet, it is an exemplar of how the industry can incorporate sustainable space operations and reduce carbon impacts through the life cycle of the mission.”

The TRUTHS mission will be a ‘standards laboratory in space’, setting the ‘gold standard’ reference for climate measurements.  It will ensure that decision-makers can be absolutely confident in the data they use for climate change mitigation strategies and policymaking and assist with the worlds net zero agenda. The TRUTHS is due to launch in 2030.

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