The agreement was signed by SSTL’s Managing Director, Andrew Cawthorne, and ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli (in pic below) during a dedicated session at the Symposium. The NAIAD study will explore the development of a low-cost, responsive mission to monitor inland and coastal water quality — a vital area for environmental protection, climate resilience, and sustainable resource management.
NAIAD builds on the success of ESA’s Scout programme, which delivers agile, small satellite missions targeting specific scientific and environmental challenges. The study phase will refine the technical and scientific requirements for the mission, paving the way for a possible full satellite implementation in the years ahead.
Speaking at the signing, Andrew Cawthorne noted: “We're proud to be working with ESA again on such an important and timely initiative. NAIAD reflects our shared vision of fast, focused missions that bring actionable insights for people and the planet.”
The NAIAD mission concept is aligned with Europe’s growing interest in high-temporal, high-resolution water quality monitoring – enabling better management of lakes, rivers, estuaries, and coastal zones.
SSTL will work with several key industry partners on NAIAD, some of whom are also in the main pic, courtesy of ESA, above. (Harshbir Sangha – UKSA, Stephanie Mottershead – SSTL, Dr. Alex Held – CSIRO, Harriet Wilson – University of Stirling, Andy Shaw – Assimilia, Andrew Cawthorne – SSTL, Simonetta Cheli – ESA, Philippe Martimort – ESA, Dr. Dalin Jiang – University of Stirling, Thorsten Fehr – ESA, Bernardo Carnicero Dominguez – ESA, Kyle Palmer – ESA, Paolo Cipollini – ESA.)