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Back in the 15th century, the region of Silesia had a thriving copper mining industry and the ore inspired the names of many things in the area, including surnames. A genius born in a small village of Silesia carried his surname into fame as his ideas changed the world. The man was Nicolaus Copernicus. It is remarkable to think that a man who lived in a world where people couldn’t even dream of space travel restructured the model of the universe using the sheer power of his imagination.

The European Union’s Copernicus Programme is standing on the shoulders of such giants of the past and seeks to inspire and enable the future generation of great minds. As Copernicus Sentinel satellites are observing the Earth from Space, the European Commission is focusing on enabling users on the ground to take advantage of the free data and services provided not only to Participating Countries but globally. As part of Copernicus User Uptake activities, the European Commission has launched the Copernicus Academy and has recently made public the list of the founding members of the network

The Copernicus Academy will connect European universities, research institutions, business schools, both private and non-profit organisations, in the Participating Countries of the Programme and beyond. The goal of the Network is to develop lectures, training sessions, traineeships as well as educational and training material to empower the next generation of researchers, scientists, and entrepreneurs with suitable skill sets to use Copernicus data and information services to their full potential.

The Academy Network will also work to increase the exchange of ideas and best practices across borders and disciplines while contributing to the development of the use of Earth Observation data in general and Copernicus data and information in particular, in various public or private user organisations or industries. Moreover, the Academy will foster collaboration between educational institutions and established commercial operators or entrepreneurs so that innovation can reach the market and benefit the citizens of Europe and the future of our Planet.

The Copernicus Academy Members will have access to a comprehensive toolbox of User Uptake tools and will receive updated information from the European Commission and the recently established Copernicus Support Office. Starting in early 2017, Academy Members’ questions and inquiries will be answered by the Support Office via email, live chat and phone. There are numerous animation activities planned for the Copernicus Academy Members in coordination with the Copernicus User Forum and existing national structures, the Copernicus Relays and the Copernicus Support Office.

As an integral part of the recently released European Space Strategy, the Copernicus Academy has the ambition to develop new tools, to foster exchanges of knowledge as well as cross-border and cross-sectorial collaboration, with a view to contribute to unleashing the vast potential of Copernicus Sentinel data and service information to change our world for the better. The sky is not the limit!

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In an article published in Nature on 7 December 2016, JRC scientists describe how, in collaboration with Google, they have quantified changes in global surface waters and created interactive maps which highlight the changes in the Earth’s surface water over the past 32 years.

In an article published in Nature on 7 December 2016, JRC scientists describe how, in collaboration with Google, they have quantified changes in global surface waters and created interactive maps which highlight the changes in the Earth’s surface water over the past 32 years.

Based on over three million satellite scenes (1 823 Terabytes of data) collected between 1984 and 2015, the Global Surface Water Explorer was produced using 10 000 computers running in parallel. The individual images were transformed into a set of global maps with a 30-metre resolution, which enable users to scroll back in time to measure the changes in the location and persistence of surface water globally, by region, or for a specific area. The maps are available for all users, free of charge.

Where and when water is found on the planet’s surface is hugely important as it influences the climate system, the movement of species, sustainable development and social, institutional and economic security. While surface water is only a tiny fraction of the Earth’s water resources, it is the most accessible part, and provides wide-ranging ecosystem services.

This long-term history of the water-surface of the planet shows that total global surface water has increased over the past three decades, with over 180 000 km2 of new permanent water bodies forming in some parts of the planet and almost 90 000 km2 of permanent surface water disappearing from other areas. Much of the increase is linked to reservoirs and climate change (e.g. accelerated snow-and-glacier melt in Tibet), and the net loss (more than 70% of which occurred in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq) is linked to drought and human activities such as river diversion, damming and unregulated use.

The data show that the impacts of climate on where and when surface water occurs can be measured, and that the presence of surface water can be substantially altered by human activities. It will help to improve modelling scenarios, show where changes are occurring, and inform water-management decision-making. Combining this with other datasets, such as satellite altimetry measurements, could lead to estimates of surface water volumes, river discharge and sea-level rise, that will have additional benefits in helping to understand the impacts of climate change.

Of immediate use in climate science, water resource reporting and monitoring and commitments to multilateral environmental agreements, the authors expect that it will also find many other uses, such as in risk, resilience and recovery linked to water movement, infrastructural planning and yet others that are still to be imagined.

Use of radar and optical satellite imagery from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 of the EU Copernicus Programme will greatly help to improve the detail and accuracy of the information in the Explorer in the future.

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Downstream applications for the agricultural sector that make agricultural advisory services accessible, affordable and easy-to-use.

Founded in 2000 in Greece, DRAXIS focuses on providing Environmental Consulting Services, Solution Development and Implementation & Management of Environmental Technologies.

Our steadfast dedication to new technologies, in conjunction with our active involvement in National and European Research Projects, enables us to provide high quality services and technological standards. We are passionate about implementing the latest and the most advanced technologies when tackling Environmental issues with an impact on the operations of a large number of industries. We provide whole life cycle support to such projects, covering the whole range from initial requirements, development, and implementation to management and maintenance.

Through the combined use of Environmental Databases and Software, our clients can achieve substantial improvements in all aspects of their work. As a result of our R&D activities and expertise we have acquired extensive knowledge in the following segments/sectors:

  • Software and ICT tools for Specific Scientific Fields, such as Precision Agriculture Technology and Farm Management Services, Numerical Weather Prediction, Air Pollution, GIS, Solar and Wind Energy, Climate change.
  • Policy Making Tools, such as Strategic Decision Support Systems, Operational Workflow Systems, Dissemination Tools, Target Oriented Portals, etc.
  • European Funding Programmes for Specific Scientific Areas.
    While DRAXIS has long-standing experience in the GIS sector, in 2015 it expanded its activities into the field of Earth Observation by developing downstream applications for the agricultural sector. DRAXIS is the coordinator of two H2020 European funded projects, namely APOLLO and RECAP.

Making agricultural advisory services accessible

APOLLO

The APOLLO project aims at developing an information system that will offer a set of farm advisory services based on Earth Observation data. These services will be available through a user-friendly website and mobile application and will be targeting primarily (but not exclusively) small farmers, as well as farmers’ associations and agricultural consultants. Free and open EO data from Copernicus missions Sentinel-1 and 2 will allow APOLLO services to be offered at a low cost, while, at the same time, the high temporal and spatial resolution of data enables services to be useful for a broad range of different crop types. APOLLO services will be validated in an operational environment at three pilot areas in Greece, Serbia and Spain.

Reinforcing CAP with remote sensing

RECAP

The RECAP project aims at developing improved remote monitoring of CAP obligations and at supplementing in-field inspections by Payment Agencies. The overall objective is to develop and pilot test a platform for the delivery of public services so as to enable improved CAP implementation.

RECAP will be a cloud-based SaaS platform capable of collecting information from open satellite data and commercial channels of satellite data providers. It will extract useful features from earth observation, correlate them with user-generated and geo-information data and model this information so as to enable identification of potential breaches of compliance.

RECAP services will be tested and validated in an operational environment in the UK, Spain, Greece, Lithuania and Serbia, with the participation of farmers, agricultural consultants and public authorities. RECAP aims at offering farmers a tool to help them comply with regulations and enable agricultural consultants to develop their own services within the platform, via tools and communication with the database using an open approach. Paying agencies will benefit because of less administrative work while enhanced transparency is ensured in CAP monitoring procedure.

Contact Information
​DRAXIS ENVIRONMENTAL S.A.
63 Mitropoleos Str., 54623, Thessaloniki, Greece
Tel.: +30 2310 274566
info@draxis.gr

Business Beyond Borders is a new initiative funded by the European Commission with the objective to help EU businesses, in particular Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Clusters, to operate internationally.

The ultimate goal of Business Beyond Borders is to increase economic growth within and outside Europe.

Among the services it offers, the initiative helps companies participating in international fairs and exhibitions in maximising the benefits of their participation, notably through the organisation of Business to Business (B2B) and Cluster to Custer (C2C) matchmaking events.

The proposed support covers “before the event” activities (e.g. selection of potential business contacts and arrangement of business meetings), “during the event” activities (e.g. personalised assistance on the spot) and “after the event” activities (e.g. further development of first business contacts).

The initiative is coordinated by EUROCHAMBRES, the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry, which represents over 20 million businesses in Europe – 98% of which are SMEs.

first opportunities in the year 2017 for EO companies:

28 Feb – 3 Mar Madrid Spain Energy, environment GENERA
16 May – 18 May Cape Town South Africa Power, water, waste utilities industries, in parallel with hydro, wind solar AUW
23 May- 25 May Sydney Australia ICT and digital services CEBIT Australia

more will come…visit BBB page
(Source European Commission and Copernicus website)

MARKHAM, Ontario, Canada – January 10, 2017: PCI Geomatics, a world leading developer of remote sensing and photogrammetric software and systems, announced today it will be collaborating closely with Deimos Imaging to support the PanGeo Alliance.

Deimos Imaging is a founding member of the PanGeo Alliance, which is the first global alliance of Earth Observation sensors operators. The PanGeo Alliance is made up of eight member companies, and a fleet of 15 operational Earth Observation sensors, providing multispectral imagery in a wide range of resolutions (from 20 m to 75 cm per pixel), 4k full-color videos, and AIS data.

PCI Geomatics is a recognized global leader in satellite Earth Observation image processing software solutions. We are working closely with PCI Geomatics to ensure our customers have access to software tools that support the imagery from the PanGeo sensor fleet,” said Fabrizio Pirondini, CEO of Deimos Imaging.

PCI Geomatics is working closely with teams from Deimos Imaging to ensure support for pansharpening, atmospheric correction orthorectification, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) extraction and automatic mosaicking and color balancing operations. Support for many of the sensors has already been implemented by PCI Geomatics, including Deimos-1, KazEOSat,-1, Theia, Dubaisat-1, TH-1, Deimos-2, Dubaisat-2, and other sensors that make up the PanGeo Alliance fleet.

“Providing support for the PanGeo sensors is of critical importance to earth observation community, who make operational use of geospatial imagery to deliver products and services to their customers on a daily basis,” said Arnold Hougham, Vice President, Sales and Marketing at PCI Geomatics. “PCI Geomatics develops software that is modular, scalable and flexible. Not only will we provide access to operations for essential image processing steps (ortho-mosaic, DEM extraction), we also plan to deliver application based demonstrations through our marketing channels to help educate customers on what analysis and information can be performed on such a rich multi-sensor data source which is offered through the PanGeo constellation.”

PCI Geomatics will be preparing instructional videos and webinars, and provide documentation on its dedicated customer portal, support.pcigeomatics.com to provide helpful information on working with the imagery from the PanGeo Alliance fleet over the coming months.

About PCI Geomatics
PCI Geomatics is a world-leading developer of software and systems for remote sensing, imagery processing, and photogrammetry. With more than 30 years of experience in the geospatial industry, PCI is recognized globally for its excellence in providing software for accurately and rapidly processing both satellite and aerial imagery. PCI has installed more than 30 thousand licenses, in over 150 countries worldwide. Find out more about PCI Geomatics at www.pcigeomatics.com.

About Deimos Imaging
Deimos Imaging, a subsidiary of UrtheCast Corp. (Canada), is a private Spanish company headquartered in Tres Cantos (Madrid) and with satellite control and processing facilities in Boecillo (Valladolid) and Puertollano (Ciudad Real). Deimos Imaging provides high-quality services to clients worldwide, including imagery from our own constellation of satellites and from the satellites of our partners like the PanGeo Alliance, and value-added applications in a wide range of fields.

Find out more about Deimos Imaging at www.deimos-imaging.com.
Find out more about the PanGeo Alliance at www.pangeo-alliance.com/.

by Mark Bergen and Ashlee Vance at Bloomberg


  • Planet Labs may buy Skybox and gain new employees from deal
  • Alphabet curbs plans for global internet satellite network

Alphabet Inc. is in talks to sell the Skybox Imaging satellite business it acquired for $500 million less than three years ago, another sign the technology giant is ratcheting back grand ambitions to blanket the globe with internet service.

Planet, a satellite imaging startup former known as Planet Labs, may acquire Skybox, according to people familiar with the situation. Some employees from the Alphabet division, renamed Terra Bella last year, would move to Planet as part of the deal, while others may get different positions at Google, according to these people. They asked not to be identified because the transaction is private.

Representatives from Planet and Alphabet’s Google unit declined to comment.

The move signals an ambitious agenda for Planet, which has raised more than $150 million. In contrast, Google parent Alphabet has been curbing once-audacious plans to blanket the globe with internet access, partly through networks of small satellites. In October, the company cut about 9 percent of staff from its Fiber fast internet service.

In June 2014, when Google acquired Skybox, the search giant said its equipment would help keep Google Maps accurate with up-to-date imagery. It also hoped to use the technology to improve internet access and disaster relief. The division operated within Google’s mapping business and it launched a small number of satellites, each about the size of a refrigerator.

Alphabet seems to be switching from a strategy of developing its own satellite businesses to investing in other companies pursuing similar goals. The Skybox sale to Planet is an equity transaction, which means Alphabet will own a stake in the latter startup, according to some of the people familiar with the situation.

In 2013, Google hired satellite industry pioneer Greg Wyler to work on a $1 billion-plus project for the internet giant, but Wyler left in September 2014 to start his own company, OneWeb. Soon after, Google bought a stake in Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which launches a lot of satellites.

Fierce Rivals

Skybox and Planet were fierce rivals in the emerging market for small, yet capable satellites. Both hoped to surround the Earth with dozens — possibly hundreds — of satellites that can take near-constant pictures of the planet’s surface. The technology has been billed as helpful for things like tracking deforestation and counting the number of cars in retail store parking lots to gauge sales.

The companies differed in their approach. Skybox aimed to make larger satellites with higher image resolution, while Planet has looked to use more, smaller satellites. Skybox’s momentum seemed to slow following Google’s acquisition, while Planet Labs has continued to raise money and send many satellites into space.

Both companies compete against the heavyweights of the satellite imaging business: DigitalGlobe Inc. and Airbus Defence & Space, a unit of Airbus Group SE.

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EARSC participated in the GEO XIII plenary in St Petersburg.

Our Secretary General, Geoff Sawyer contributed to different events notably a panel on the Commercial sector engagement with GEO.

It was the first time that the private sector had been invited to speak in front of the GEO delegates and represents a good step forward in the move to promote engagement. A dialogue is essential and this need was recognised as the main conclusion of the panel. As a global organisation this is not so easy to organise but as a representative body and a Participating Organisation to GEO, EARSC can play a strong role.

Read also EARSC´s blog on the subject.
All the presentations can be downloaded from the GEO portal

We are pleased to announce that the 11th GEO European Projects Workshop will take place from 19th to 21st June 2017 in Helsinki.

The 11th GEO European Projects Workshop will take place from 19 to 21 June 2017 in Helsinki, co-organised by the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the European Commission. The GEO European Projects’ Workshop is the annual European GEO event which brings together European players from academia, research, public and private sectors interested in and actively contributing to the GEOSS. The aim is to look for synergies among the participants and to discuss how Europe can contribute to this international effort.

More information here

AlSat Nano, a UK-Algeria CubeSat mission, has captured its first full colour image following its launch in September 2016.

The image was taken by the Open University C3D2 instrument’s wide field camera on 3rd December, 2016, over the Arkhangelsk Oblast region, on the North West coast of Russia. It was captured under twilight conditions at dawn, showing the coastline to the top, and a brief winter sunrise over the arctic region with a deep red-brown hue.

Through the cloud cover there is evidence of hills and snow on mountains, and mist in the river valleys. The object in the foreground is the Oxford Space Systems Ltd AstroTubeTM Boom payload, also carried on board the spacecraft.

This marks an important milestone for the mission as all core payloads have now been commissioned successfully, paving the way for further scientific and commercial exploitation.

Dr Chris Castelli, UK Space Agency Director of Programmes said: “Successfully delivering this joint UK-Algeria mission from payload selection to launch readiness in 18 months is a great achievement from all programme partners. As this latest image demonstrates, mission operations are going from strength to strength, validating cutting edge UK space technology and our open approach to working with international partners.”

AlSat Nano is Algeria’s first CubeSat mission and shows the capability of UK technology in partnership with industry and academia. With a spacecraft the size of a shoebox yet featuring all the core subsystems of much larger satellites, the programme demonstrates how CubeSats can be assembled quickly and launched at a fraction of the cost. This will help Algeria strengthen its domestic space technology capability by giving their scientists and engineers first-hand experience of spacecraft operations.

Dr Abdewahab Chikouche, Director of Space Programmes at Algerian Space Agency, said: “The Alsat-1N project is a concrete example of the success of our cooperation with UKSA. This project, very enriching from the scientific and technological point of view, allowed ASAL engineers to progress in the integration and testing of nanosatellites and acquire autonomy in its operation. This project will enable Algerian researchers and academics to strengthen national capabilities in advanced space technology.”

Approximately half of the spacecraft’s volume was made available as part of an open call to the UK CubeSat community as a free flight opportunity for self-funded payloads. AlSat Nano stuck to a tight development schedule, with less than 18 months between payload selection and flight readiness.

Prof Guglielmo Aglietti, Director of Surrey Space Centre said: “AlSat Nano has been an exciting project for the Surrey Space Centre to be leading. Educational and research elements, and the technology knowledge transfer with the Algerian Space Agency were key parts of this project. Additionally, the development of this nanosatellite platform has been a great opportunity to work with UK payload providers, who are demonstrating some exciting new technologies.”

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