The FORUM mission, ESA’s 9th Earth Explorer, is set to revolutionise climate science by filling a critical gap in far-infrared spectral observations. Gofore’s subsidiary Huld plays a key role in developing data processing software and ultimately contributing to the mission success.
The Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring (FORUM) mission, selected as ESA’s 9th Earth Explorer in 2019, aims to fill the gap in far-infrared spectral observations. Its goal is to provide a complete spectral characterisation of the Earth’s Outgoing Longwave Radiation.
FORUM will fly in loose formation with the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Instrument Next Generation (IASI-NG) on the Meteorological Operational Satellite – Second Generation (MetOp-SG). This mission will enhance our understanding of the climate by evaluating the role of far-infrared in shaping it. By doing so, FORUM will help reduce uncertainty in future climate change predictions.
Huld expands contribution to FORUM with new ESA contract
Since October 2022, Huld has been contracted by Airbus Defence and Space Ltd. to build Forum End-to-End Simulator (FEES) Level 1, L1 Operational Processor, and Instrument Monitoring Facility.
Recently, Huld has won a new Contract with European Space Agency (ESA) to deliver Forum L2 software engineering support. The project started on March 10, 2025.
The three main objectives of this activity are to:
- Support the Level-2 science activities that define the theoretical basis for L2 processing by providing robust software engineering practices
- Develop the Level-2 Processing Module (L2PP) and the Performance Analysis Module (PAM2) for the FORUM End-to-End Simulator (FEES)
- Integrate all current FORUM Level-1 (developed by Huld as part of other activity) and Level 2 modules into a cohesive FEES.
The goal of the activity is to ensure data accuracy and successful module integration. It also aims to maintain high standards in software development. This ensures a reliable and efficient assessment of FORUM mission performance.
“It’s very exciting to be working on such a ground-breaking project, which will be the first mission to measure Earth’s outgoing spectrum in the far-infrared at high resolution. Huld’s extensive expertise in Level-1 data processing will now be utilized in supporting Level-2 science activities. I look forward to working with ESA to contribute my expertise on this mission.” – Sara Jokela, Project Manager, Huld
”To complete an end-to-end system including both Level-1 and Level-2 modules will certainly be an interesting challenge. The collaboration involved in this project hopefully provides new insights to Huld with respect to understanding the needs in generating scientifically valid results from raw instrument data.“ – Teemu Laakso, Design Lead, Huld
Read more on ESA’s website.
The activity is carried out under a programme of, and funded by, the European Space Agency.
The view expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of ESA.
Picture © ESA/ATG medialab