The MEOSAR is a new constellation of satellites created by COSPAS-SARSAT capable of locating an emergency beacon with greater precision and timeliness.
The constellation joins the LEOSAR and GEOSAR constellations with the intention of overcoming some of the limitations of these two. GEOSAR can operate on the whole globe (except the polar regions) but cannot locate the transmitter unless it includes the geographical coordinates in the distress message. While LEOSAR provides for the localization of the transmitter but the coverage of the satellites is not always available and so is often the possibility of a delay in sending the distress signal.
The new MEOSAR constellation provides global coverage and at the same time is able to locate the transmitter without the need for additional help from the transmitter. In practice, it benefits from the strengths of both the previous two systems (GEOSAR and LEOSAR).
The MEOSAR constellation, although at the moment still in an experimental phase, has already contributed to the detection of some distress signals and to the relative rescue.