[Satellite Today 03-06-09] Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) has signed a 30 million euro ($38 million) contract with Astrium GmbH, EADS Astrium‘s unit in Germany for the supply of a Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) for the European Space Agency‘s (ESA) EarthCare mission, SSTL announced Mar. 4.
    The SSTL-built MSI will use technologies developed in Europe to provide information on the horizontal structures of clouds, such as cloud type and cover, and cloud optical and microphysical properties. The instrument will provide spatial context for the single-point measurements made by the radar and LIDAR systems, imaging the Earth in seven spectral bands.
    The EarthCare Mission is part of the Earth Observation Envelope Program, led by ESA, to cover primary research objectives. The mission will be the third Earth Explorer Core Mission and will be implemented in collaboration with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, who will provide one of the core instruments.