Advances in the Research Component of the European Earth Observation System.

The European Space Agency develops a comprehensive satellite system to observe the Earth. Its research component includes missions in orbit, e.g. Aeolus to derive wind and aerosol atmospheric profiles from ultraviolet Doppler lidar measurements, and missions close to launch, e.g. Biomass to measure forest biomass from long-wavelength synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) data. After outlining them, upcoming research missions, such as Harmony and the Mass change And Geosciences International Constellation (MAGIC), will be described. Harmony uses two small satellites for bistatic SAR measurements to derive 3D Doppler and radar backscatter and observe -- in a first phase -- 3D land surface deformations, ocean surface motion, surface winds, directional surface wave spectra, and more. In a second phase, single-pass SAR interferometry provides surface elevation of glaciers, permafrost, icebergs and volcanoes. MAGIC measures the varying gravity field to enable new applications, e.g. groundwater storage monitoring. MAGIC derives the geoid, to 1 mm accuracy at 3 (10) day intervals and 500 (150) km spatial resolution, from inter-satellite distances, measured with laser interferometers, and from ultra-sensitive accelerometers data, enhanced in future using cold atom matter-wave interferometry.