MicroCarb - Edinburgh Innovations Ltd

University of Edinburgh, due to their technical expertise and as a member of the Mission Advisory Group (MAG) for the MicroCarb mission, will continue to support the UK contribution to MicroCarb, carrying out activities through a structured programme of work packages covering validation, flux estimation, joint modelling, and ongoing project management. This work is overseen by CNES, who are the technical authority for the MicroCarb mission. The UKSA's Office for Chief Engineer, following consultation with CNES, advised in December 2025 that a Direct Award is the appropriate course of action:

'During the upcoming exploitation phase, these activities continue in order to exploit scientific data and contribute to ground algorithms within the science ground segment. Considering that this is an international collaboration, and that science exploitation strictly requires part of this work to be provided in order to complete the data processing pipeline (some of them are explicitly mentioned in the Implementation Arrangement as UKSA contribution), and given that the three organisations have distinctive expertise in the relevant application fields (i.e. SIF, CO₂ flux mapping, optical ground calibration), from both a technical and programmatic perspective it is advised that the three existing organisations continue to support the mission during the exploitation phase.

The involvement of new stakeholders, or the hand-over of ongoing activities to new organisations, would require a considerable effort in terms of knowledge transfer and an in-depth assessment of whether the required expertise could be fully covered. This is not feasible at this stage'.

University of Edinburgh's activities include the configuration and application of atmospheric transport models (e.g. GEOS-Chem), integration and assimilation of satellite and ground-based observations, early ingestion and validation of MicroCarb data, and development of multi-satellite consistency assessments. The work also includes characterisation of CO₂ fluxes and uncertainties through inverse modelling approaches, alongside development of joint CO₂-SIF inversion capability and supporting analytical frameworks. Continuous project management, coordination with UK and international partners (including CNES), and representation in relevant programme forums are maintained throughout the delivery period.

These activities form part of the ongoing UK contribution to the MicroCarb mission and are a continuation of the work undertaken by University of Edinburgh under the existing MoU.