Genesis

Genesis will contribute to a highly improved reference frame of Earth with an accuracy of 1 mm and a long-term stability of 0.1 mm/year, providing a coordinate system for the most rigorous navigation applications on our planet. The Genesis satellite will combine the main geodetic techniques (very-long-baseline interferometry, satellite laser ranging, global navigation satellite systems and possibly DORIS), synchronising and cross-calibrating the instruments to determine biases inherent to each technic, allowing to correct them for superior precision.

An updated International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) will have immediate benefits on satellite-based systems, impacting Galileo-enabled applications in fields like aviation, traffic management, autonomous vehicles, positioning and navigation. In addition, an enhanced ITRF will benefit countless other fields, including meteorology, natural hazard prediction, monitoring climate change effects, land management and surveying, study of gravitational and non-gravitational forces, among many others.