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As part of the Agency’s user-driven approach to preparing new Earth Explorer missions to advance our understanding of the Earth system, six candidate missions will be presented to the science community at a User Consultation Meeting in January 2009.

(17 July 2008). The meeting follows the Call for Core Earth Explorer Ideas released in 2005, and the subsequent selection of six missions to undergo assessment studies out of 24 original proposals. As the assessment period draws to a close, the goal is to select up to three of the missions for the next stage – feasibility study. In accordance with the peer-review selection process the user community is invited to express their views at the Earth Explorer User Consultation Meeting as an important input to the decision making process on which missions will go forward.

The meeting will be held at the Congress Centre of the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon, Portugal, on 20-21 January 2009. At the meeting the Agency and representatives from the scientific community will present the status of all the six candidate missions. Meeting registration details and the agenda can be found at: http://www.congrex.nl/09C01/

After completion of the feasibility studies the user community will again be consulted before selecting one of the candidate missions for full implementation. This will become the seventh Earth Explorer mission, after GOCE, CryoSat, SMOS, ADM-Aeolus, Swarm and EarthCARE

The six candidate missions that will be presented at the meeting are:

A-SCOPE measuring concept

A-SCOPE – The A-SCOPE mission concept aims to observe total column carbon dioxide with a nadir-looking pulsed Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL). The lidar would have high-resolution ranging capability to provide additional information on tree canopy height. In addition, aerosol and cloud layer information could be gained as a spin-off. The mission would realise a spatially-resolved global carbon budget combined with diagnostic model analysis through global and frequent observation of carbon dioxide.

BIOMASS measuring concept

BIOMASS – The aim of the BIOMASS mission concept is to significantly improve estimates carbon stocks and fluxes over land through global measurements of forest biomass and its change with time. These data will contribute to reduce the uncertainty in the worldwide spatial distribution and dynamics of forests, thereby helping improve present assessments and future projections of the carbon cycle. The mission concept is based on a novel spaceborne P-band synthetic aperture polarimetric radar operating at 435 MHz. The mission would provide the first opportunity to study the Earth’s surface at P-Band with new information expected for polar ice sheets, subsurface geology and forest flooding.

CoreH2O measuring concept

CoreH2O – The CoreH2O mission concept aims to fill the gaps in current information on snow, glaciers and surface water. The objective is to improve the modelling and prediction of water balance and streamflow for snow covered and glacierised basins, the modelling of water and energy cycles at high latitudes, and the forecasting of water supply from snow cover and glaciers, including the relation to climate change and variability. The mission concept employs twin frequency synthetic aperture radars (9.6 and 17.2 GHz) in two consecutive mission phases to deliver all-weather, yearround information on regional and continental-scale snowwater equivalent.

FLEX measuring concept

FLEX – The main aim of the FLEX concept is to make global observations of photosynthesis through the measurement of chlorophyll-fluorescence. Chlorophyll-fluorescence radiation is emitted from vegetation in the visible and infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum and provides unique information about the photosynthetic activity of plants. FLEX will carry a very high-spectral resolution imaging spectrometer that allows the weak fluorescence signal to be decoupled from the reflected sunlight background. Fluorescence observations together with the information retrieved from the mission’s secondary instruments will allow to quantitatively monitor photosynthetic efficiency of terrestrial ecosystems at global scale supporting the improvement of the understanding of the carbon cycle as well as the role of vegetation in the water cycle.

PREMIER measuring concept

PREMIER – The PREMIER concept aims to advance our understanding of the processes that link trace gases, radiation and chemistry in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The radiative effects of water and clouds are at a maximum in this region. It is also a region characterised by small-scale processes that have not been studied by previous missions. The instrumentation will consist of an infrared limb-imaging spectrometer and a millimetre-wave limbsounder. By linking with MetOp and the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) data, PREMIER also aims to provide insights into processes occurring in the lower troposphere.

TRAQ measuring concept

TRAQ – The TRAQ mission concept focuses on air quality and the long-range transport of air pollutants. The objective is to understand more about the rate of air-quality change at regional and global scales, the strength and distribution of sources and sinks of tropospheric trace gases and aerosols influencing air quality, and the role of tropospheric composition in global change. A new synergistic sensor concept would allow for process studies, particularly with respect to aerosolcloud interactions. The instrumentation concept consists of imaging spectrometers operating in ranges between ultraviolet and short-wave infrared, spectrometers in the thermal infrared, a multi-directional polarization imager and a cloud imager.

SOURCE ESA

Since the advent of Earth observation from space, satellite missions have become central to monitoring and learning about how the Earth works, resulting in significant progress in a broad range of scientific areas.

(15 July 2008). In the mid-1990s, ESA set up its Living Planet Programme and established a new approach to satellite observations for Earth science by working in close cooperation with the scientific community to define, develop and operate focused missions.

In 2006, ESA launched a new science strategy for the future direction of its Living Planet Programme in order to address the continuing need to further our understanding of the Earth system and the impact that human activity has on it.

The strategy includes 25 key scientific challenges addressing the different elements of the Earth system. The challenges, formulated under the guidance of the Earth Science Advisory Committee (ESAC) and in consultation with the scientific community, are guiding ESA’s efforts in developing the global capacity to understand our planet.

Reinforcing these strategies as well as ESA’s scientific support to researchers and industry, ESA has launched a new element of the Earth Observation Envelope Programme (EOEP) – the Support to Science Element (STSE).

STSE is designed to provide scientific support to both future and on-going missions by taking a proactive role in the formulation of new mission concepts and providing multi-mission support to science.

Chair of ESAC, Prof. Johnny Johannessen of Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre said: “A strong ESA contribution to data exploitation, as planned in the STSE programme, will enhance the advances and achievements in scientific understanding of the Earth System.

“In turn, this will stimulate development of new applications that can contribute to improve quality of impact studies, nowcasting and forecasting with subsequent benefit to society.

“The continuing trend in the scientific community is towards multi-disciplinary investigation integrating data from many sources. The STSE will be an important and significant asset in this context.”

Dr Stephen Briggs, ESA’s Head of Science, Applications and Future Technologies Department, said: “The value of ESA Earth observation data to the science community is very clear. The STSE will build on the long heritage of scientific exploitation by creating stronger links between ESA and scientists working with the data, implementing a key recommendation of our Science Advisory Committee.

“These modest investments by ESA Member States will reap significant rewards in the science community.”

The programme, which will receive 25 Million Euro in funding for five years, will be implemented through four main Action Lines:

Future Mission Concepts: supporting the development of novel mission concepts and its scientific agenda, facilitating the transferring of novel or non-space technologies to innovative EO mission ideas and enhancing the scientific capacity in member countries to prepare the next generation of EO missions.
Novel Observations and Products: contributing to the development of novel and improved data observations and multi-mission based products exploiting ESA and non-ESA EO assets, exploring innovative retrieval methods and proposing new scientific uses of ESA data beyond the conventional scientific objectives and standard products of existing missions.
Support to Earth Science: stimulating and supporting scientists to improve our understanding of the Earth system by responding to the needs of key international scientific programmes and encouraging activities that will improve modelling, data assimilation and forecasting by exploiting ESA data.
Strategic Actions: contributing to the development the ESA EO science strategy, providing a fast response to key strategic scientific needs where ESA data may contribute and reinforcing the collaboration between ESA and the major scientific international programmes.

For each action line, ESA is issuing a number of Invitations to Tender (ITT) covering research and development activities in support of scientific institutions and industry in member countries.

Contracts will be placed by open competitive tender. The corresponding ITTs have been published in the ESA E-Mail Invitation To Tender System (EMITS).

To learn more about the projects and programme, visit the STSE website at www.esa.int/stse

Source ESA

Space research+ Window on GMES + FP7 Guide

Space Research – Developing applications for the benefit of the citizens” provides an overview of the projects co-financed by the European Commission in the area of Space Research and Development under the Sixth Framework Programme. Please download the full brochure here

Window on GMES illustrates the vast palette of GMES services through examples and interviews with key stakeholders. Please download the first issue, which is published by the BOSS4GMES consortium with support from the 6th Framework Programme for Research here

FP7 Guide:This guide aims at supporting the use of EU funding for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) and the Structural Funds. It is unique in the sense that it presents in parallel the main features of the three funding instruments and helps to identify, via a checklist of simple questions and options, which of the programmes (and which sub-programme) might be suitable for applying for funding.
Please download the guide, checklist , scorecard

Source EC.EUROPE

Globalisation is both an opportunity and a threat for Europe’s SMEs, whose capacity to operate on an international level will determine their long-term competitiveness. Yet, the vast majority of European SMEs continue to limit their operations to their own country. A recent EU report seeks to identify the factors which impede, or support, the internationalisation of SMEs in Europe.

(09.07.08). Increasingly, companies are being called upon to broaden their horizons and compete on an international basis. ‘Internationalisation’ has been proven to be one of the key drivers of competitiveness and growth and, indeed, a full 63% of European Union citizens are in favour of globalisation (Flash Eurobarometer 151b). However, European SMEs have difficulties embracing this global trend and the opportunities it offers. According to a report from the European Observatory of SMEs, only 8% of SMEs in the EU export, only 12% of the inputs of an average SME are purchased abroad, and only 5% of companies obtain income from foreign business partnerships.

Concerned about the low level of internationalisation of European SMEs, the European Commission launched a BEST project, at the end of 2006, on ‘Supporting the internationalisation of SMEs’. An expert group, including high-level representatives from across the EU and associate countries, was set up to examine national and regional policies to promote more international trade by SMEs, both within the EU and outside it.

“The aim was to analyse the factors which facilitate or hinder internationalisation, to identify existing policies that encourage or support SMEs in going in this direction, and provide policy recommendations for the future,” notes the project officer from the European Commission’s Entrepreneurship Unit, Inigo Urresti.

Identifying good policy and good practice

The ‘Internationalisation of SMEs’ expert group met four times between November 2006 and December 2007 and produced two final documents, which should make a significant contribution to the definition of policies and programmes aimed at increasing the international orientation of European SMEs.

A ‘Final Report of the Expert Group on Supporting the internationalisation of SMEs’ was published in early 2008, and a good practice brochure presenting a collection of 27 national programmes, identified as providing examples of good practice in support to the internationalisation of SMEs, was distributed for the first time at the conference of the European Charter for Small Enterprises in Bled, Slovenia, in June 2008.

The final report is based on the recommendations of the experts and supported by statistical data and studies. It provides a good overview of the current situation across the EU with regard to the internationalisation of SMEs and offers an insight into the barriers that exist and how they may be overcome.

The importance of public support

“One clear message to emerge from the report, is the vital importance of public policy support,” says Urresti. “The existence of public support programmes makes a major difference. Many SMEs would not even consider going international if it were not for support received from public agencies. This makes public support not only helpful, but absolutely necessary.”

The report also identifies the need for better communication and greater clarity in the provision of support services. “There are too many different support agencies and networks, and better coordination is needed,” says Urresti. The main reported reasons for failure to move outside the national market are a lack of financial resources, and, most of all, a lack of the skills and/or people required to tackle internationalisation. “There is a need for more international entrepreneurs. In the long term this should be fostered through the national education systems,” says Urresti. “Education systems need to create entrepreneurs with the necessary language skills, international outlook and understanding of business in an international context.”

Looking to the future

The expert report recommends better coordination of policies and programmes to support internationalisation, as well as greater involvement of SMEs themselves in defining policy. It also stresses the importance of raising awareness among SMEs of the importance of extending their vision beyond national boundaries. It suggests that, whilst the national level is probably the best for the development and coordination of policies, for maximum impact they should be implemented at regional/local level. It also recommends support to networks, promotion of life-long training, and an emphasis on internationalisation rather than simply exports.

The next step for the project will be the completion of an in-depth study to identify the state of play with regard to internationalisation in European SMEs. “This should provide a clear overview of the extent of the problem, with an analysis by sector, type of activity, size of the enterprise, and so on,” says Urresti. The study is now under way and should be completed by the end of 2009.

Contact
Entrepreneurship Unit: entr-entrepreneurship@ec.europa.eu
Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry

The EU has transformed space into a strategic policy area. The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative is among its major success stories and is reaping a wealth of environmental and social benefits, as well as stimulating space research and generating downstream commercial applications.

(17.06.08). Last year, the EU, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), launched the European Space Policy (ESP).

“Without the ESP, Europe could become irrelevant [in the space sector],” Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen, responsible for Enterprise and Industry, cautioned at the launch.

The ESP affects a wide range of policy areas, including telecommunications, research and innovation, enterprise, the environment, security, and more. In fact, it is safe to say that space, despite its out-of-this world reputation, is very much a down-to-earth pursuit. Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) and the Galileo satellite navigation system are currently the policy’s two main pillars.

Eye in the sky

Half a century ago, in 1958, SCORE, the first communications satellite, was launched. In the 50 years since then, satellite telecommunications has become the most economically and socially significant space application, one which intimately affects our daily lives: modern telecommunications services, weather forecasting, earth observation, air travel, shipping, the media, the internet, global positioning, telemedicine, tele-education and video conferencing.

Over the past three decades, Europe has developed a leading position in the civilian satellite sector, deriving over half the European space sector’s revenues from the global satellite communications market.

Earth observation and monitoring are among the most crucial functions made possible by satellites. The most obvious and well-known use of observation technology is for weather forecasting, where satellites and weather stations collect data which is then interpreted by sophisticated computer modelling technology to produce a usually accurate forecast.

Smooth operators

In order to function effectively, all the multitude of complex components in earth observation and monitoring systems need to be able to function together as a harmonious whole.
Launched in 1998 as a joint EU-ESA programme, the GMES initiative seeks to provide the seamless and invisible link between all the divergent space-based and terrestrial technologies in order to maximise the value of earth observation for society and the economy.

“This major collaborative initiative focuses on promoting research and innovation in order to develop downstream environmental, security and economic services,” explains Mats Ljungqvist, the scientific officer responsible for emergency core services at the Enterprise and Industry DG.

The overarching objective of GMES services is to help improve the environmental safety and overall security of European citizens and the European economy, as well as supporting the implementation of many other EU policies. GMES monitors the state of the environment and its short, medium and long-term evolution to support policy decisions. It is also the European contribution to the worldwide Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) initiative.

Prepared for the worst… and the best

GMES’s possibilities are extensive. “There is potentially a very wide range of downstream applications,” points out Ljungqvist. The applications GMES delivers fall into three main categories: mapping, support and forecasting. Mapping covers road maps, topography, land-use patterns, risk maps for floods and forest fires, etc. Forecasting covers not only weather, but air pollution levels in cities, and the quality of marine waters.

GMES also seeks to support emergency responses to natural and human-induced disasters. An inkling of this potential was seen following the tsunami of 2004 when satellite images helped direct the relief effort.

Preview of things to come

A generation of GMES activities funded by the ESA and by the EU’s Sixth Framework Programme (FP6, 2002-06) is currently coming to an end, notes Ljungqvist. One example of this is the Union-funded PREVIEW project which has sought to develop new or enhanced information services for risk management to serve regional, national and European civil protection units.

PREVIEW has drawn on cutting-edge R&D to develop systems to help prevent, anticipate and manage different types of disasters, such as floods, forest fires, windstorms, earthquakes, landslides and man-made disasters.

“PREVIEW is an important building block of the GMES initiative and complements EU space policy in general,” observes David Hello, the project’s coordinator.

The project has focused on a number of priority areas, including new early-warning systems to better anticipate short-term risk connected to floods, landslides and other phenomenon; crisis-support services, such as fire monitoring, to allow more effective rescue operations; and the development of ‘risk maps’ for different types of hazards so as to improve prevention and preparedness measures. PREVIEW has also developed two models simulating an earthquake followed by a tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea as part of efforts to forge a Euro-Med civil protection system.

“[PREVIEW] is an important step towards developing operational GMES systems for emergency responses,” notes Hello. “Our new project, Safer, will use PREVIEW’s results to develop core emergency response services,” he said.

Under FP7 (2007-13), space is a research priority under the Co-operation programme. More than four-fifths of the €1.4 billion allocated for space will go to support the GMES initiative.
To learn more about specific space-related projects funded by the EU, check here

Source EC.EUROPA

Taking on biodiversity loss, Earth Observation is paramount, UN says


(4 June 2008). With the world’s population growing and biodiversity diminishing, Earth Observation data is becoming an increasingly important tool for achieving sustainable development.

Meeting in Bonn, the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations’ Convention of Biological Diversity (UNCBD) has underlined the importance of Earth Observation satellites, such as Europe’s GMES initiative, as a means to facilitating conservation of biological diversity and sustainable development. Earth Observation data may be used for the monitoring of selected headline indicators of biodiversity loss, such as the extent of global drylands, amongst other applications.

In Bonn, a consensus emerged amongst the 7000 participants at the COP conference, who come from some 191 countries, about importance of land-cover mapping springing from Earth Observation when dealing with the issue of biodiversity.

Contact: DG ENTR, Space Research and Development Unit – entr-space-research-and-development@ec.europa.eu

See also: ESA Official Website

Storm warning system: Central America and East Africa


US plans for East Africa

GENEVA (AP), 25 June 2008 — Cell phone users in East Africa will be able to receive warnings when a storm is brewing thanks to a low-cost alert system U.S. scientists are hoping to set up in the next few years, officials said Tuesday.

The NextStorm system — a computer program that analyzes recent satellite images to predict where thunderstorms are likely to occur in the next hour — should be in place by the end of the decade, said Jacqueline Schafer of USAID told journalists in Geneva.

The U.S. development agency has already set up a similar system set to begin operating this summer in Central America together with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and local partners… Read full article on-line or download full text

Central America gets new storm alert system

COSTA RICA (Daily News), 25 June 2008 — A new system of early forecasts for storms and bad weather, with alerts every 30 minutes, will be in operation this summer in Central America and southern Mexico, the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations announced.

The system, dubbed NextStorm, will provide short-term forecasts of powerful electrical storms or heavy rainfall likely to cause flooding. The news came while Costa Rica is still fixing up the damage in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Alma.

NextStorm represents “a major advance in putting earth observation data and other tools to work in protecting people and livelihoods in southern Mexico and throughout Central America,” GEO Secretariat director José Achache said… Read full article on-line or download full text

Source EarthObservations

Detection and prevention capabilities ‘at street level’ figure heavily in Commission’s next annual call for security research

BRUSSELS – The European Commission will launch its second annual Security Research call for proposals (SRC02) in early autumn, setting aside EUR 119 million to cover 26 research topics. SECURITY EUROPE was shown an advance copy of the all-but-finalised draft call. Similar to SRC01 in 2007, which set aside approximately EUR 175 million for 47 topics, the new call will devote most of its budget – about 90 percent – to small- and medium-sized research and technology efforts, known as capability and integration projects, respectively.

Source SecEUR sprl

This publication summarises the main features of European business and its different activities in a concise and simple manner.

This edition includes a special feature section on the factors of business success, which presents an analysis of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. The publication is intended to function as a showcase for and introduction to the data available in this field. The focus is on structural business statistics: both traditional business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as specific information compiled on a multi-yearly basis and the latest results from development projects on topics of key political interest.

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Source Eurostat

Eurospace produces, since 1996, the sole annual comprehensive review of the state of the space industry in Europe:

* Industrial statistics collected at the source.
* Annual survey, 150+ space companies in Europe.
* Proven consolidation methodology
* Full chronological consistency and comprehensive series
* Unique economic indicators

The print report (published in June) is distributed free of charge to industry participants, to the main space policy actors in Europe (ESA, EU, National Agencies, Ministries…), and to the press.

This year we present the twelth edition of our annual survey of European Space Industry activity. The elements currently available for download are:

* The pdf version of the Eurospace 2007 Facts & Figures survey report: right click here to download.
* The complete 2007 facts and figures presentation: right click here to download
* The complete facts and figures data sets (year 2007 and time series) as an Excel file at Eurospace website to download.

Eurospace is proud to present, year after year, the only estimate of European Space Industry’s consolidated turnover, this could not be achieved without active participation of the companies in the sector which we would particularly like to thank.

Source Eurospace