Challenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP)

CHAMP Projectlogo

CHAMP is a German small satellite mission for geoscientific and atmospheric research and applications, managed and by GFZ. With its highly precise, multifunctional and complementary payload elements (magnetometer, accelerometer, star sensor, GPS receiver, laser retroreflector, ion drift meter) and due to its orbit characteristics (near polar, low altitude, long duration) CHAMP generates for the first time simultaneously highly precise gravity and magnetic field measurements (since mid 2000).
Additional science objective of the CHAMP mission are atmospheric investigations based on the provision of daily about 200 globally distributed vertical profiles of temperature/water vapor in the tropopshere/stratosphere and electeron density in the ionosphere. The data are operationally used, e.g. by several weather centers to improve global weather forecasts.