ESA greenlights Hibidis and SOVA-S

The European Space Agency approved two new Earth-observation Scout missions on May 20, adding Hibidis and SOVA-S to its small-satellite FutureEO program. ESA said its Earth Observation Programme Board cleared the pair after a 10-month evaluation process that began with four candidate concepts announced in June 2025. The agency said the two missions were selected to answer different scientific questions: Hibidis will study biodiversity beneath forest canopies, while SOVA-S will examine atmospheric gravity waves and their effects in the upper atmosphere. ### Why were Hibidis and SOVA-S picked now? ESA said on May 20 that Hibidis and SOVA-S were chosen from four final competing concepts. The other finalists, announced in June 2025, were NAIAD, focused on coastal and inland aquatic ecosystems, and SIRIUS, aimed at urban heat islands and heat-related health risks. ESA said the board’s approval followed an “intensive 10-month evaluation process.” (esa.int) June 26, 2025 marked the start of that final selection round, when ESA said nine proposals had been narrowed to four candidates for detailed study over nine months. ESA identified Sitael in Italy as the prime contractor for HIBIDIS and OHB in Czechia as the prime contractor for SOVA-S. ### What exactly will Hibidis measure under forests? Hibidis is designed to deliver “new insights into understorey biodiversity and ecosystem functioning,” ESA said in its approval notice. (esa.int) The mission was introduced last year as a hyperspectral satellite concept focused on understorey biodiversity and ecosystem functions — a part of forests that is harder to observe from space than the canopy above it. (esa.int) ESA has framed the mission as part of a broader Earth-observation push around ecosystems and climate-linked land processes. In the candidate phase, ESA said HIBIDIS would use hyperspectral observations to study vegetation below forest canopies, with Sitael leading the industrial team. ### What is SOVA-S supposed to do in the upper atmosphere? SOVA-S stands for Satellite Observation of Waves in the Atmosphere – Scout, ESA said in a mission image release published on May 20. (esa.int) The spacecraft will carry a shortwave infrared imager to provide near-global daily observations of gravity waves at altitudes between 80 kilometers and 120 kilometers by measuring atmospheric “airglow,” a faint light emission produced by chemical reactions in the atmosphere. (esa.int) ESA said the mission will investigate how atmospheric gravity waves influence the upper atmosphere and thermosphere. In the 2025 candidate announcement, the agency said SOVA-S would focus on the impact of those waves on the upper atmosphere and thermosphere, with OHB in Czechia as prime contractor. ### How do these missions fit into ESA’s Scout program? ESA says Scout missions are a newer branch of its Earth Observation FutureEO program, built around small satellites, rapid development and lower cost than larger Earth Explorer missions. (esa.int) The agency says Scouts are meant to deliver science either by miniaturizing existing technologies or by demonstrating new observing techniques. (esa.int) ESA’s framework sets implementation at about €35 million in 2024 economic conditions and a three-year development cycle from kick-off to launch, according to agency material presented at the 2025 Living Planet Symposium. The same material says ESA down-selects up to two missions for implementation after independent scientific and programmatic assessment. ### Which Scout missions are already in the pipeline? (esa.int) HydroGNSS, another ESA Scout mission, launched on Nov. 28, 2025, according to eoPortal, the European Earth observation directory. The mission uses reflected navigation signals to gather data on soil moisture, wetlands, freeze-thaw states and above-ground biomass for hydrological and climate monitoring. ESA approved NanoMagSat and Tango in February 2024. (esa.int) ESA said NanoMagSat will measure Earth’s magnetic field to support work on space weather and related applications, while Tango will track greenhouse-gas emissions from human activity. ESA later said Tango will use two 25-kilogram satellites, with one measuring methane and carbon dioxide and the other nitrogen dioxide. (directory.eoportal.org) May 20 is the latest formal expansion of that roster. ESA said Hibidis and SOVA-S now move into the Scout implementation track alongside HydroGNSS, NanoMagSat and Tango under the agency’s FutureEO program. (esa.int 1) (esa.int 2)