CARIOQA-PMP: preliminary results of gravity field recovery simulations for the pathfinder mission by the space-wise approach

The Cold Atom Rubidium Interferometer in Orbit for Quantum Accelerometry - Pathfinder Mission Preparation project (CARIOQA-PMP) is funded under the EU HORIZON program with the aim of developing quantum accelerometers for space applications. Such technology will be used for satellite-based Earth science to support monitoring climate change and the development of mitigation and adaption measures.

The aim of the current work is to assess the expected gravity field recovery performance of the CARIOQA pathfinder mission by running end-to-end simulations based on possible mission configurations. The satellite will be equipped with a single-arm quantum accelerometer and a GNSS receiver. Orbital parameters and instrumental error models are provided by the technological partners of the project. In particular, three orbital scenarios are considered (circular, elliptical and variable-altitude orbits) and a CAI accelerometer with 10^-10 m/s² accuracy level is assumed.

The simulations are performed by applying the space-wise approach developed at POLIMI. The results show that the CARIOQA pathfinder mission is promising for the estimation of the very low degrees of the time variable gravity field, thanks to the almost flat error power spectral density of the cold atom interferometer.