In July 2025, two major space missions were launched jointly from the Guiana Space Center aboard a Vega-C rocket (flight VV27): MicroCarb and CO3D.
CO3D – Seeing Earth in 3D to better manage it CO3D (Constellation Optique 3D) is a three-dimensional Earth mapping project led by CNES in partnership with Airbus Defence and Space.
The CO3D program is based on four satellites developed by Airbus DS and its partners. CO3D has multiple objectives:
• Produce high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) for almost the entire globe
• Support a variety of applications: urban planning, agriculture, environment, natural risk prevention, defense
• To provide fast, reliable, and accessible data to the scientific community and public/private stakeholders The satellite combines innovative optical technology with intelligent on-board processing, capable of generating the first images as soon as it passes over. Given all the developments made for this program, EREMS is a major partner in this mission.
As a reminder, we have developed four different types of equipment:
- CFEE
- Front End Electronics
- HKM o Housekeeping Module, thermal control of the instrument
- PMU o Payload Management Unit (processing & mass memory)
- HCA (called Jansper during development)
o Control of highly specific inertial wheels enabling unprecedented satellite agility
Find out more about the CO3D project: https://cnes.fr/actualites/terre-co3d
MicroCarb – A satellite for cleaner air MicroCarb is the first French and European satellite dedicated to measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
Developed by CNES, with significant contribution from the United Kingdom, this innovative satellite has the following mission:
Mapping natural sources and sinks of CO2 on a global scale • Improving understanding of the carbon cycle, a fundamental issue in the fight against climate change
Providing reliable data to scientists and decision-makers to guide climate policy Thanks to its onboard spectrometer, MicroCarb will be able to measure CO2 concentrations with an accuracy of ppm (parts per million). It will also be able to distinguish high-emission urban areas, such as Paris or Shanghai, and track their evolution.
EREMS has actively contributed to the development of an essential part of this mission: the detector electronics used to measure CO2 in the atmosphere. This technology, developed by our teams from September 2016 to the end of 2019, will ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data collected by the satellite.
Find out more: https://cnes.fr/actualites/connaissez-microcarb-petit-satellite-francais-de-mesure-co2
These two missions fully embody the French space industry's ability to respond to major climate and environmental challenges, with cutting-edge technologies serving the planet and the commitment and expertise of the EREMS teams to tackle all the technological challenges encountered.