Sentinel-5 Precursor (S-5P) is the first of a series of atmospheric chemistry missions to be launched within the European Commission’s Copernicus (former GMES) Programme. The mission objectives of S-5P are to monitor air quality, climate and the ozone layer and it will fly in a sun-synchronized polar orbit with a 13:30 hr local equator crossing time. With the current planned launch during the 4th quarter of 2017 and a nominal lifetime of 7 years, S-5P is expected to provide continuity in the availability of global atmospheric data products between its predecessor missions SCIAMACHY (Envisat) and OMI (AURA) and the future Sentinel-4 and -5 series. S-5P will deliver unique data regarding the sources and sinks of trace gases with a focus on the lower troposphere including the planet boundary layer due to its enhanced spatial, temporal and spectral sampling capabilities as compared to its predecessors. The S-5P satellite carries a single payload, namely TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) which was jointly developed by The Netherlands and ESA. TROPOMI is a nadir viewing shortwave spectrometer that measures in the UV-visible wavelength range (270-500 nm), the near infrared (710-770 nm) and the shortwave infrared (2314-2382 nm). It will measure various key species including tropospheric/stratospheric ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, formaldehyde as well as cloud and aerosol parameters.
S-5P will fly in a so-called loose formation with the U.S. Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) satellite. The primary objective for this formation flying is to use the cloud clearing capabilities of the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite). The temporal separation between TROPOMI and VIIRS will be about 3.5 minutes. Once this formation has been established, it will enable synergistic data products and scientific research potentials. This session aims to review the status of the S-5P mission, to present calibration and validation results and first scientific achievements as retrieved from the TROPOMI measurements.