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Abstract

The Earth’s gravity field is inhomogeneous and temporally variable. It reflects the inner and outer structure of our planet. Therefore, the investigation of the gravity field is essential for understanding the System Earth. But the precise mapping of the gravity field on global scales including its temporal variations is only possible using satellites. This can be done indirectly by analyzing satellite orbit deviations which began in 1957 with the estimation of the Earth’s flattening by tracking the first artificial satellites. Today, the GRACE- and GOCE-missions represent the technological summit in the field of satellite-based gravity field determination. GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences is involved in both missions. Future gravity missions will be based on the experiences and results of these two projects. Particularly the GRACE mission will be continued by GRACE-FO which is presently under development together with U.S. colleagues, again involving significant GFZ contribution. The launch of GRACE-FO is scheduled for 2017.