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Cambridge, ON – June 22, 2016 – exactEarth Ltd. (TSX: XCT), the leading provider of Satellite AIS data services (Joint-venture of Hisdesat and COMDEV) announces announced today the successful launch of the M3MSat (Maritime Monitoring and Messaging Microsatellite) by the government of Canada. M3M contains a high performance AIS satellite payload and exactEarth has exclusive license with the government of Canada to commercialize the AIS data produced from the satellite.


“We are pleased to extend our congratulations to Defence Research and Development Canada and to the Canadian Space Agency on this significant achievement,” said exactEarth CEO Peter Mabson. “M3M adds another important asset to our global constellation of satellites. This will lead to improvements in satellite vessel detection and enhanced update rates for all of our users worldwide.”

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include financial and other projections, as well as statements regarding exactEarth’s future plans, objectives or economic performance, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, including statements regarding, among other things, the intentions of the parties, the use of any intellectual property, further investments that may be made by exactEarth and new markets that may be exploited by either party. exactEarth uses words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “likely”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “plan”, “forecast”, “project”, “estimate” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by exactEarth in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors exactEarth believes are appropriate under the relevant circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to exactEarth’s expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause exactEarth’s actual results, historical financial statements, or future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors include, without limitation: uncertainty in the global economic environment; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; delays in the purchasing decisions of exactEarth’s customers; the competition exactEarth faces in its industry and/or marketplace; the further delayed launch of satellites; the reduced scope of significant existing contracts and the possibility of technical, logistical or planning issues in connection with the deployment of exactEarth’s products or services.

About exactEarth Ltd.

exactEarth is a leading provider of global maritime vessel data for ship tracking and maritime situational awareness solutions. Since its establishment in 2009, exactEarth has pioneered a powerful new method of maritime surveillance called Satellite-AIS (“S-AIS”) and has delivered to its clients a view of maritime behaviours across all regions of the world’s oceans unrestricted by terrestrial limitations. exactEarth has deployed an operational data processing supply chain involving a constellation of satellites, receiving ground stations, patented decoding algorithms and advanced “big data” processing and distribution facilities. This ground-breaking system provides a comprehensive picture of the location of AIS equipped maritime vessels throughout the world and allows exactEarth to deliver data and information services characterized by high performance, reliability, security and simplicity to large international markets. For more information, visit exactearth.com.

About Hisdesat

Hisdesat was founded in 2001 as operator of government services by satellite to act primarily in the areas of defense, security, intelligence and foreign affairs. Since 2005, the company provides secure satellite communications to government agencies of different countries and is currently developing new satellites in two areas: Earth Observation and Information of the worldwide maritime traffic by satellite (AIS). More information: www.hisdesat.es

For further information:
Araceli Serrano
PR Communications Manager
Tel: +34 91 4490149
aserrano@hisdesat.es

Image Alert has been a long standing and popular feature of EarthImages.

What exactly is Image Alert?

Image Alert is “the asynchronous version of a manual search“. In a nutshell, you tell us what you are looking for and we will send you an email every time new fresh, imagery has been added to our catalogue. This way you don’t have to go back to the application and run your favourite search, you just get notified when there are new matching results.

How do you create Image Alerts?

In EarthImages, scroll down your search results until you get to the Image Alert section. Click on the link, a popup will appear. Provide your email address so we can send you an email when we have found new imagery for you. Check the screenshot below in which I set up an image alert for the Fort McMurray forest fires.

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The geo-portal has been designed and implemented by GAF and its partner Sofreco. ​

The overall aim is to make Gabon’s mining sector more attractive to private sector investments and thus strengthen economic development. The geo-portal, which includes a geo-catalogue, is a mining information promotion and communication tool dedicated to mining companies, prospectors and academics. It allows a better understanding of and easy access to the geological, geophysical and geochemical data and information available in Gabon. The geo-portal displays a selection of the most relevant cartographic data – whereas the geo-catalogue section has a wider objective, serving as a tool for securing, archiving, cataloguing and searching geoscientific information.

The work was undertaken within the project: “Renforcement des capacités de l’administration” for the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Tourism in Gabon, which was awarded to GAF and its partner Sofreco. This project is part of the PAGOS (Projet d’Appui a la Gouvernance Sectorielle) programme about improved governance and is financed through the European Union via the 10th European Development Fund.

The portal is in French and can be accessed at: www.gabon-mines.org

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CLS detects oil spills by using satellite radar images, determines the drift trajectories of oil slicks to identify polluters and the possible source of the pollution and finally, supplies the detection report.

On Friday 22 April 2016 at 17h17, a radar image taken by the SENTINEL 1-A satellite was acquired by operators at the CLS VIGISAT centre.

Twenty minutes later, the CLS analysts, who are expert in detecting pollution, sent their report to the European Maritime Safety Agency in Lisbon, showing that several oil slicks had been detected in a zone about 60 km in length and at less than 10 km from the Italian coastline, around the port of Genoa.

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CLS provides for a year of satellite data to help clean the bay of Rio de Janeiro in the run-up of the 2016 Olympics.

A major task was given by the Brazilian government to CLS and its subsidiary Prooceano to help clean up the Guanabara Bay. CLS is in charge of locate waste satellite and predict their movements. CLS collects data position and ocean currents and sends them to its Brazilian subsidiary Prooceano . Stephanie Limouzin , Director of Space Oceanography division at CLS explains ” It realizes a kind of weather currents on several days ahead, that predicts when, where and how waste will drift.”

Tags have also been placed on the boats loaded with waste retrieval of the Bay. Thanks to satellite data , the exact position of vessels is known and enable Brazilian services to adjust in real time cleaning operations depending on the evolution of drifting waste.

This vast operation of cleaning the Rio Bay began in the 2015 summer. CLS and its subsidiary Prooceano have working with the Brazilian government to improve water quality in the Bay of Guanabara . The model developed by CLS allows to save time and optimize fleet management . Stephanie Limouzin says “For a year , our system has optimized the evacuation of thousands tons of waste but the problem is that it continues to reach new every day. The situation is still much improved : the bay is increasingly clean, although it is not perfect. There is still work because there is a lack of effective system for collecting waste upstream , before they end up in the ocean. “ People will soon have their sights set on Rio during the 2016 Summer Olympics and it will helps to highlight the work that can be accomplished by companies such as CLS. This is a great demonstration of satellite works! Environmental monitoring associated with ocean observation allows to optimize such a huge depollution program and restore sites like the Bay of Rio.

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(Paris, France – June 20, 2016) CGG GeoConsulting’s NPA Satellite Mapping group has launched the multi-client EARS BasinMap for exploration de-risking across the vast region of East Africa, from regional-to-prospect or play scale. The EARS BasinMap is part of a new NPA Map product suite that offers world-leading satellite imagery-based geological mapping at different scales on either a proprietary or multi-client basis through PlateMap, BasinMap, BlockMap and FieldMap products.


New interactive geological map and database of East Africa Rift System aids exploration in this frontier region

The EARS BasinMap provides an entirely new 1:200,000 scale geological map and database of the East African Rift System and integrates structural history, drainage analysis and sediment provenance. Compiled by expert interpretation of satellite optical imagery and topographic data (the latest Landsat 8 OLI and SRTM 1 DEM data), the database extends across approximately 2.5 million sq km of East Africa taking in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi and parts of Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. New Ventures & Exploration teams can use the EARS BasinMap for regional screening to rapidly gauge and understand the structural dynamics of ongoing rifting and predict the location of favorable sediment sequences with high reservoir potential.

Across the under- and unexplored rift basins, where exploration data quality and quantity are limited, the EARS BasinMap provides a regional analysis of the timing and history of regional fault movement, uplift and erosion, which control sedimentation and accommodation space within the basins. The style and geometry of the rift-related structures in the region have an inherited relationship with the mapped basement trends, and control both compartmentalization of the rift basins and the drainage systems. The combined elevation data and map data provide valuable insight on geological evolution, source-to sink depositional systems and reservoir quality. When coupled with Seep Explorer (CGG’s on- and offshore seeps database) and Tellus (CGG Robertson’s strategic new ventures tool), structural, reservoir and source risk can be even further reduced in this developing hydrocarbon province.

The EARS BasinMap’s rich, geological database is easily accessed and interrogated through NPA Satellite Mapping’s proprietary ArcGIS* Onshore Analyst Tool (OAT), which allows user-driven queries of thematic datasets, encompassing fully referenced lithologies, local names, stratigraphic age, and type and timing of structures.

nce leads and prospects have been identified, the database can be leveraged to provide the context for more detailed block studies, which can include more advanced section building, geological modeling and fieldwork, and for seismic planning. The EARS BasinMap is available for licensing for either the entire East Africa region or cropped large sub-regions.

Richard Burren, Director of CGG GeoConsulting’s NPA Satellite Mapping, said: “Our new offering of scaled geological products across the Map family expands our impressive range of multi-client onshore geological mapping studies. The latest member, EARS BasinMap, is the world’s first contiguous structural history, drainage and sediment provenance database for the East African Rift System and promises to significantly help our clients unlock the exploration potential of the region. It provides our clients with the industry’s only interactive, queryable 1:200,000 scale geological map for East Africa, a region of the world that our team of expert structural geologists knows extremely well, after over a decade of mapping experience.”

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AnsuR is one of seven Norwegian suppliers of emergency solutions. Together with Innovation Norway and NOREPS we are present when top executives from around the world meet in Istanbul this week on the world’s first humanitarian summit – World Humanitarian Summit.

AnsuR participated on Innovation Marketplace of drones for humanitarian operations.

The initiative for the summit came from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and the goal of the meeting was to establish a broader ownership and designing a more targeted plan for international humanitarian work.

The reason for the summit is a record high humanitarian needs, combined with a huge pressure on resources, climate change and several large and protracted armed conflicts that are not kind to the civilian populations. Roughly 125 million people throughout 37 countries today are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The summit was held in Istanbul on 22 to 24 May 2016, brought together heads of state, donors and recipient countries, the UN and international aid agencies as well as a large number of business representatives. UN Secretary General wanted to mobilize for the protection of civilians, conflict resolution and wider collaboration across sectors to alleviate suffering and prevent new crises.

The summit

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Paris, Washington D.C., Montreal, Yokohama, July 13, 2016 – Euroconsult’s latest report, Top NewSpace Startups to Watch, assesses 20 startups via business-based criteria in robust individual profiles in order to track their current standing, challenges, and future potential within the rapidly-evolving space/satellite value chain.


Profiles map challenges, business potential across explosive new sector

The trajectory of these startups’ impact can be described as either incremental (e.g., adding launch capacity to a supply-constrained market), disruptive (e.g., shifting the fundamental economic model for their own segment), or enabling (e.g., shifting a fundamental economic model for an upstream or downstream market). Contemplation of exit strategies and impacts provide frameworks for tracking these startups over time.

“All NewSpace startups that qualified for this report were North-American-based, with clusters in Seattle, Silicon Valley, and Washington D.C. Based in Vancouver, UrtheCast is the only one not located in the U.S.,” said Sima Fishman, Managing Director of Euroconsult U.S.A. and editor of the report. “More than 40 different investors hold stakes in these 20 companies, with a handful investing in more than one.”

Functional areas attracting a great deal of startup interest include Earth observation, satellite communications (satcom) constellations, and space transportation (i.e., launch) and exploration. Some balance between these three allows for inclusion as well of two companies distributing equipment whose new technology may enable different economic models.

Several themes have emerged as success factors. Market and application development are predictably prevalent. Companies who are struggling to raise funding would generally benefit from an anchor customer to provide some comfort to investors about the market possibility; this seems to manifest in partnering approaches being taken to distribution (and supplier relationships as well for that matter). In looking at overlap between these operations, as well as overlap with other existing businesses, it is noticeable that there are some areas in which the first to launch could stop a competing startup from completing their investment, rewarding the first mover with a sustainable advantage.

One of the focal areas for the report is watching what comes next for these NewSpace actors. All of the constellations anticipate multiple launches between 2016 and 2019, with some launch schedules extending even beyond that time frame. Fundraising will continue to be an issue, particularly for the expensive satcom constellations, in some cases on a make-or-break basis. Prototypes, initial customer trials, and scaling for production are on the calendar for both profiled equipment-based startups. Finally, operational testing and research and development toward next generation product refinements round out the consolidated list of what to watch for from these companies in the next few years.

While Euroconsult’s recently published Prospects for the Small Satellite Market takes a consolidated approach by presenting the various factors that will drive/inhibit growth in demand for small satellites over the next ten years, categorizing by mass/client/application/region, Top NewSpace Startups to Watch focuses on the specific companies within the space/satellite value chain, giving highly detailed individual profiles covering the outlook, innovations, environment and success factors that must be achieved for each company to move beyond the startup phase. Taken together, these two reports bring a detailed view of both existing and potential business opportunities in this explosive new sector.

About the Report
Top NewSpace Startups to Watch is an assessment of the current standing and challenges of 20 startups within the space/satellite value chain. Each company is presented in a highly detailed profile, including its business model, funding history, key partners, competitive environment, target markets, and success factors in need of achievement; areas covered in the report include satcom constellations, space exploration & service, Earth observation, and equipment startups.

About Euroconsult
Euroconsult is the leading global consulting firm specializing in space markets. As a privately-owned, fully independent firm, we provide first-class strategic consulting, develop comprehensive research and organize executive-level annual summits for the industry. With 30 years of experience, Euroconsult is trusted by 600 clients in over 50 countries. Euroconsult is headquartered in France, with offices in the U.S., Canada and Japan.

PRESS CONTACT
Andrew Smith
+1 (514) 903-1001
smith@euroconsult-na.com
www.euroconsult-ec.com

(October 10-14, 2016, Laxenburg, Austria). The ConnectinGEO workshop on gap analysis and prioritization and the ENEON workshop will take place in the week of October 10, 2016 in Laxenburg, Austria. These workshops are co-located with a ConnectinGEO project meeting.

The workshops will address key issues associated with the societal benefits of Earth observations and the exploitation of Earth observation for societal policy and decision making.

SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE GAP ANALYSIS WORKSHOP

Providing Earth Observation Support to the Monitoring and Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals: Gaps and Priorities: Solving complex societal issues increasingly depends on information and knowledge derived from Earth observations and in Europe a rich landscape of Earth observation networks and actors aims to collect and process the necessary observations to satisfy these information and knowledge needs. Nevertheless, there are many gaps and the goal is to identify and assess these gaps in support of decisions on which gaps to address with high priority.

The Gap Analysis workshop will discuss the outcomes of the gap analysis and prioritization performed in the ConnectinGEO project. This gap analysis was guided by the information and knowledge needs resulting from humanity’s “Road to Dignity” detailed in the Agenda 2030 and specified in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed upon by the United Nations. Both the monitoring and implementation of actions to achieve these goals require extensive support from Earth observation and science communities. Several directives and crosscuting issues in Europe provided further guidance for the gap analysis.

The workshop will provide a forum to review the methodology for gap analysis and prioritization, discuss the relevant gaps and priorities in the European Earth observation networks and develop a strategy to address those gaps that have a high priority assigned.

The objectives of the gap analysis and prioritization workshop are to:

  • Assess the ConnectinGEO methodology for gap analysis and prioritization;
  • Review the list of gaps identified and the prioritization achieved;
  • Produce a final list of gaps with high priority;
  • Discuss a strategy to address these gaps and provide recommendations for the European Network of Earth Observation Networks (ENEON) and the European Commission concerning high-priority gaps.

OctoberEOGaps_WS

SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE ENEON WORKSHOP

Building a collaborative ENEON to inform policies and actions to address complex societal issues: Many in situ networks in Europe collect valuable Earth observations, and European institutions are involved in numerous global networks. A lack of cross-domain collaboration and coordination the interaction between Earth observation communities and policy and decision makers hinders a full exploitation of the integrated observations for societal applications. ENEON aims to develop coordination and collaboration between networks, the processing, and the generation and dissemination of products to better serve the growing societal needs for environmental intelligence.

ConnectinGEO is engaged in exploring the benefits and options of constituting a European Network of Earth Observation Networks (ENEON) that encompasses current networks in Europe in a single entity. The ENEON is designed as a forum for discussing gaps in the Earth observation networks and proposing concrete solutions to the European Commission in terms of completeness but also for ensuring continuity of critical infrastructures both in-situ and space based. It also serves as a coordination point for the European contribution to GEOSS with a focus on in-situ networks and encouraging the alignment of a transversal set of Essential Variables that is currently advocated by GEO.

The Objectives of the ENEON workshop are to:

  • Bring together the main current Earth Observation networks in Europe, including those that are umbrella initiatives;
  • Continue the development of an ENEON strategy from organizational and subject points of view;
  • Assess the extent to which ENEON is embedded in the European Earth observation landscape;
  • Discuss the status of work in the ENEON components and the work for the next year;
  • Explore options for ENEON contributions to the GEO Work Programme.

OctoberENEON_WS

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Earlier in May, the GEO-CRADLE project organised a dedicated session at the 10th GEO European Projects Workshop in Berlin, to discuss best practices for the sustainable exploitation of capacity building projects. The panel gathered experts from public, private and research sectors to share their lessons learned and present their recommendations for strengthening local EO value chains. From decision makers to the private sector, from data sources to the final user, each stakeholder has a vital role to play in the grander scheme of GEO. Read on…

Taking place under the auspices of the GEO-CRADLE project, the session gathered more than 60 participants from science, business and public administrations around capacity building efforts – both old and new. The main objective of the session was to present tools and methodologies that have been or are being put in place by capacity building projects to overcome the various challenges for the uptake of EO data and services at a regional level. Primary emphasis has been placed on understanding how the impact of such projects can be increased and how the project outputs can be sustainably exploited beyond their lifetime.

To shed light on these matters, GEO-CRADLE has invited speakers representing the private sector – GMV and Spatial Services Ltd, past or ongoing initiatives – AfriAlliance, AfriGEOSS, BalkanGEONet, ConnectinGEO, as well as public authorities such as Morocco’s Centre Royal de Télédétection Spatiale.

Companies should not dismiss the added value of a user’s local knowledge

Dr Ana Sebastian Lopez, Senior Project Manager at GMV, presented their activities within Wall-to-Wall Environmental Habitat Mapping in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Part of a broader project commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency, the project’s success can be attributed not only to the company’s rich experience, but also to a solid, established workflow. By adopting a bottom up approach, GMV was able to take advantage of the local expertise and thus better understand their client’s needs. Moreover, by building products and tools that concretely respond to local needs, their sustainability is increased. Local stakeholders should have a clear interest in using project outcomes on a long term basis. Ms Amal Layachi, Head of Department at the Centre Royal de Télédétection Spatial in Morocco also urged for a stronger support for partnerships between R&D, the private sector and universities. A stronger cooperation between the three stakeholder groups will ensure a better coordination of initiatives, cross-sector fertilization and support for greater data sharing. “If these three sectors actively work together, the structures created will become sustainable”, Dr Peter Zeil, Senior Project Manager at Spatial Services Ltd added.

“Capacity building begins with user empowerment”

Empowering local actors, whether they are universities or public authorities, is key when discussing sustainable capacity building initiatives. Local structures and national contact points should act as enablers to build upon. „Without such local structures, it is indeed difficult to ensure sustainability“, Dr Giovanni Rum, GEO Work Programme Coordinator argued. Capacity building should be done along the entire value chain, he continued. From policy to the final services, a harmonisation of activities around bilateral and multilateral projects with the European Commission (EC) is needed and this is what AfriGEOSS (GEO’s African EO community) strives to achieve. Whether through seed grants, twinning exercises or larger initiatives, the EC should continue to play a leading role in fostering know-how transfer to its neighbouring counties. Match-making EU to non-EU companies could also act as a catalyst for market development. Such pairing of skills and practices was highly recommended by both experts and participating delegates.

A new initiative carried out by AARSE and EARSC, which surveys the African private sector, highlights exactly this – the need for more EU-Africa joint projects and workshops, trainings and information exchange. Some delegates went even further to recommend directly replicating success stories across borders and countries. All in all, awareness raising proved insufficient to advance grassroots initiatives. Mapping gaps and making recommendations have also proven insufficient. But we should act on what we can, notably, by equipping local stakeholders with the right tools, tailored funding schemes and know-how. According to Dr. Uta Wehn, Assoc. Prof of Water Innovation Studies and AfriAlliance Project Director, UNESCO-IHE, such “African grass root initiatives, by being allowed to develop more freely, present more opportunities to ‘leap frog’ to smart management solutions, with the help of, for example citizen science”

“Greater awareness, more data sharing”

Programmes such as GEO and Copernicus do act as enablers in pushing for greater data sharing. However, data sharing remains an issue, even in Europe. Many end users of geo-information (public authorities and private sector) are still not aware of initiatives such as GEO, Copernicus and free, open and full access to satellite data (e.g. Sentinels). Furthermore, public raw data providers could be even reluctant to share their data. Such practices have lead to many cases of data duplication, not only at a regional level but also at a local one. When looking at the Balkan region, “sometimes the disconnection within countries is to a large extent greater than in-between countries” Mr Igor Milosavljevic, Senior Business Development Manager at InoSens argued. Mapping such duplications in order to prioritise capacity building needs will be amongst the key objectives of the ConnectinGEO project as Ms Ivette Serral, the project’s Technical Manager indicated. What’s more, the project will aim to build upon previous regional project expertise to offer a new set of recommendations to Copernicus and GEOs.

Amongst the many interesting takeaways from the session, one really stood out: For end-users to fully and sustainably reap the benefits of EO-based services, significant efforts need to be made in awareness raising, networking and capacity building at regional and local level. Capacity building projects such as GEO-CRADLE and ConnectinGEO should heavily promote data sharing principles, integration of regional capacities and concrete linkages with the strategic implementation of Copernicus and GEO in the EU’s neighbouring countries. The success of such projects relies on the strong involvement of all actors across the value chain, for which GEO-CRADLE – in cooperation with other initiatives in the region – will certainly strive. In that context, the next regional workshop of GEO-CRADLE takes place in Novi Sad from 14-15 July