• Lunar Sub-Group, Meeting

Updates on Current Activities and Preparation of LCWS#5  2026-10-07

Agenda:

  1. The Joint Ensemble-Satellite Selenic Campaign: a first attempt to acquire lunar imagery at close times, from multiple instruments in space – Matthijs Krijger (Earth Space Solutions)
  2. EnMAP Moon Observations: current status – Miguel Pato (DLR)
  3. 5th Lunar Calibration Workshop – draft agenda and preparation – Sebastien Wagner (EUMETSAT)
    • Including discussions in preparation of the workshop
      • Usefulness of repeating the JESSC exercise and possibility to share lunar imagery schedules.
      • Data sharing
  4. Update on LSICS and timeline for release – Sebastien Wagner (EUMETSAT)
  5. 2nd lunar model inter-comparison exercise : planned approach – Tom Stone (USGS)
  6. AOB

Meeting Summary

The meeting focused on three topics:

  • Lunar measurements in the context of instrument radiometric performance comparisons and assessments (the JESSC campaign by T. Krijger) and dedicated observation campaigns (EnMAP by M. Pato).
  • Status of preparations for the 5th Lunar Calibration Workshop (by S. Wagner).
  • Lunar model development and inter-comparison, including an update on the LSICS framework (by S. Wagner) and the 2nd lunar model inter-comparison exercise led by T. Stone.

 

The presentations provided an initial opportunity to introduce a series of topics to be discussed at the upcoming 5th Lunar Calibration Workshop:

  • The usefulness of sharing lunar acquisition schedules between agencies and New Space missions. The purpose would be to provide instrument operators with visibility of which instruments observe the Moon, when and at which lunar phase. This would allow comparisons between instruments when measurements are taken at similar times, which in turn would benefit the missions. This information could also be provided retrospectively to identify past observations and measurements. Further discussions will take place at the lunar workshop to explore how this can be organised and implemented under the GSICS umbrella. A JESSC 2 campaign will be attempted on 26 October, when S3C and S3B observe the Moon in tandem. Currently, PACE/OCI, EnMAP and GCOM-C are planning to acquire the Moon on that day, at similar lunar phases.
  • Related to the previous item, data sharing was also briefly mentioned and will be discussed in more detail at LCWS#5, as it is essential to ensuring fruitful collaborations between members of the Lunar Calibration Community. The type of information to be shared and the methods for sharing it will be discussed at LCWS#5, but it is expected to build on what was attempted with the first version of the GSICS Lunar Observation Database (GLOD). The status of the current action at EUMETSAT to propose a way forward for GLOD v2.0 will be presented at the workshop.
  • Future LSICS users were made aware of the need to avoid modifying LSICS if the Lunar Calibration Community wants to establish LSICS as the new GSICS reference framework for lunar calibration.
  • EnMAP: If approved, the mission will continue until September 2032. The usefulness of regular lunar observations is clear, and EnMAP has planned a series of dedicated measurements starting in Q4 2026. EnMAP also has the possibility of making lunar acquisitions close in time to those of S2 (Copernicus) and Pleiades (CNES). T. Stone pointed out the usefulness of lunar observations for investigating and resolving issues such as non-linearities or discontinuities.
  • LSICS status and release: Although the schedule is tight, the LSICS development group still aims to release LSICS v1.0 before the workshop. To help future users prepare for that release, the group proposed to provide the document describing the LSICS input and output file formats, so that instrument teams could prepare LSICS input files and SRFs, and then iterate with the group to cross-check that the formats have been properly implemented. The LSICS Input/Output Definition Document will tentatively be shared within 10 days of the web meeting.
  • Finally, regarding the 2nd lunar model inter-comparison exercise, LSICS will serve as a common framework for running a set of models and versions on a predefined set of geometries and SRFs. These geometries and SRFs have been revisited following the 1st exercise conducted in 2023. This clearly demonstrates the advantages of having a common reference framework such as LSICS for the community.