Satellite missions providing data for a continuous monitoring of the Earth gravity field and its changes are fundamental to study climate changes, hydrology, sea level changes, and solid Earth phenomena. GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On) mission was launched in 2018 and NGGM (Next Generation Gravity Mission) studies are ongoing for the long-term monitoring of the time-variable gravity field. In recent years, an innovative mission concept for gravity measurements has also emerged, exploiting a spaceborne gravity gradio-meter based on cold atom interferometers. In particular, a team of researchers from Italian universities and research institutions has proposed a mission concept called MOCASS (Mass Observation with Cold Atom Sensors in Space) and conducted the study to investigate the performance of a cold atom gradiometer on board a low Earth orbiter and its impact on the modeling of different geophysical phenomena. This paper presents the analysis of the gravity gradient data attainable by such a mission. Firstly, the mathematical model for the MOCASS data processing will be described. Then numerical simulations will be presented, considering different satellite orbital altitudes, pointing modes and instrument configurations (single-arm and double-arm); overall, data were simulated for twenty different observation scenarios. Finally, the simulation results will be illustrated, showing the applicability of the proposed concept and the improvement in modeling the static gravity field with respect to GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer).

为连续监测地球重力场及其变化提供数据的卫星任务是研究气候变化、水文、海平面变化和固体地球现象的基础。GRACE-FO（重力恢复和气候实验后续）任务于 2018 年启动，NGGM（下一代重力任务）研究正在进行中，以对时变重力场进行长期监测。近年来，基于冷原子干涉仪的星载重力梯度仪也出现了一种创新的重力测量任务概念。特别是，来自意大利大学和研究机构的一组研究人员提出了一个名为 MOCASS（在太空中使用冷原子传感器进行质量观测）的任务概念，并进行了这项研究，以调查低地球轨道飞行器上冷原子梯度计的性能及其对地球的影响。不同地球物理现象的建模。本文介绍了对此类任务可获得的重力梯度数据的分析。首先，将描述MOCASS数据处理的数学模型。然后将给出数值模拟，考虑不同的卫星轨道高度、指向模式和仪器配置（单臂和双臂）；总体而言，模拟了 20 种不同观察场景的数据。最后，将说明模拟结果，