NASA Awards $5M to Study Satellite Mission on Mapping Climate Change

University of Maryland researchers are part of a team awarded $5 million to explore the potential of a satellite mission that would launch in 2030 or 2032.

The mission, Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer (EDGE), aims to advance our knowledge of changes in Earth's terrestrial ecosystems, ice and glaciers to help better understand how our planet is responding to climate change.

EDGE, led by the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), is one of four concept studies recently announced by NASA; the others are based at UCSD, the University of Washington and California Institute of Technology. Upon completion of the nine-month study, NASA will select two missions to receive $310 million for the planned launch.

EDGE uses a technology called laser altimetry that sends laser pulses to the Earth’s surface and records the time it takes them to return to the spacecraft. EDGE will use a high density of laser beams to map the planet, providing a detailed view of Earth's surface dynamics over a larger area—including the North and South poles—and offering global coverage of vegetation and dense mapping around ice sheets.

“EDGE’s unique imaging capability provides an unprecedented 3D view of Earth's vegetation and topography, enabling us to track changes in carbon storage, habitat and biodiversity,” said geographical sciences Associate Research Professor John Armston, deputy principal investigator of the EDGE mission.

Insights from EDGE will complement data from previous missions, including the UMD-led Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI), which provides highly accurate measurements of Earth’s forest canopy and structure using lidar (light detection and ranging). GEDI was recently reinstalled on the International Space Station after the completion of its first mission.

GEOG Distinguished University Professor Ralph Dubayah, the principal investigator on GEDI, is on the EDGE science team with fellow GEDI mission team members Laura Duncanson, George Hurtt and Michelle Hofton.

“We have worked for over 30 years to develop a lidar capable of imaging large swaths of the Earth’s surface, and the EDGE mission realizes that dream. While the GEDI mission was crucial toward developing the technology that EDGE is based on, EDGE pushes spaceborne lidar to an entirely different level,” said Dubayah. “By any measure, EDGE is a great leap forward and one that will be immensely valuable as we address the pressing environmental concerns looming in the next decade.”