Skip to content

Copernicus Observer Newsletter

#June 2014

Copernicus Masters 2014 competition
This competition rewards innovative proposals for new applications of EO data in solving problems for society and businesses. So don’t miss the chance to win prizes with a combined value of more than EUR 300,000.
read more

The Copernicus Emergency Management Disaster Risk and Recovery mapping service is scaling up
Preparedness, Disaster Risk Reduction, Reconstruction and Recovery are the critical phases before or after a natural disaster, for which the Copernicus EMS Risk and Recovery Mapping Service provides critical information that supports the work of local actors.
read more

The European Environment Agency and Copernicus: a game changer for land monitoring
In an interview with Copernicus Observer, Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, discussed the benefits of the European Environment Agency’s involvement in the Copernicus Land Service.
read more

Copernicus Benefitting Society and the Environment
The Copernicus Conference organised by the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the European Space Agency was held in Athens on the 12th and the 13th of May 2014. It provided a fresh opportunity to showcase the benefits of Copernicus for society and environment.
read more

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service supports humanitarian responses to tackle the Ebola outbreak in Guinea
The European Commission’s DG ECHO has been supporting the humanitarian response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. As part of its action plan, DG ECHO activated the Copernicus Emergency Management Service in order to obtain accurate and timely information on the city of Meliandou (Guinea) to enable them to plan and support logistical operations.
read more

Sentinel-1A: leaving behind the commissioning phase
The first spacecraft of the Copernicus constellation of Sentinels was successfully launched into orbit on the 3rd of April 2014 from the European Spaceport in French Guiana. Very soon after the launch, the Sentinel-1A satellite successfully delivered its first images in record time. The commissioning phase is now progressing at full speed with outstanding results and will soon give rise to the operational phase.
read more

The European Space Expo has reached out to close to half million of citizens!
The European Space Expo has achieved the outstanding result of having attracted 476,932 visitors since the start of its journey in Copenhagen in 2012 demonstrating that awareness of the benefits of the European Space Programmes among European citizens has been raised.
read more

7th Continent Expedition: Copernicus participates in the fight against marine litter
The MyOcean2 project has participated in the 7th Continent Expedition to the Sargasso Sea to support the crew in optimising ship routing and in identifying the most likely areas for plastic convergence in the region.
read more

Forecasting smog: how Copernicus supports national activities
Observations, from both satellites and ground-based in situ sensors, can provide a valuable snapshot of the air quality, but beyond that have no real predictive capability. Conversely, Copernicus Atmosphere monitoring service will combine state-of-the art computer models of the atmosphere with satellite and in situ observations, providing daily forecasts of the composition of the air around the globe, with a particular focus on Europe.
read more

Copernicus projects: providing added-value to the EU fisheries control campaigns
The European Fisheries Control Agency has the important mandate of coordinating fisheries control operations and inspection activities by Member States and assisting them in complying with the application of the Common EU Fisheries Policy. In order to support these activities, two Copernicus projects (DOLPHIN and NEREIDS) have participated in two of the agency’s field campaigns.
read more

Copernicus contributes to the security and safety of major football championships
Copernicus research projects began supporting the emergency planning around major football tournaments during the preparation of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa (2010). In the context of this year’s championships in Brazil (12th June – 13th July 2014), Copernicus is contributing to ensuring the safety and security of players and supporters.
read more

Copernicus contribution to innovation for maritime security and safety
On the occasion of the 7th European Maritime Day (EMD) Conference, a workshop jointly organised by two R&D (FP7) projects (DOLPHIN and NEREIDS) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) presented the benefits and achievements of Copernicus support to Maritime Surveillance.
read more

Copernicus: When free data meets open software
During the GMES Initial Operations phase (GIO) and prior to Copernicus, two preparatory actions, obsAIRve and ICEMAR, were launched by the European Commission to develop pioneering services in two application areas: Atmosphere and Marine environment monitoring.
read more

From Copernicus research projects to commercial services: monitoring oil and gas infrastructure and oil spills using Earth Observation
The Copernicus programme, which has evolved from a research-based programme to full operational capacity, has served as a means for companies to build capacity for the provision of commercial Space-related services. The Spanish multinational GMV is a successful example of how participation in Copernicus has created new commercial opportunities.
read more

European Space Solutions conference in Prague: How Space applications can make a real difference to our lives and businesses
The three-day event allowed business leaders, policy-makers, academics and users in the Space sector to exchange ideas, showcase technologies and products and organise one-to-one meetings with other stakeholders.
read more

Barcelona implements state-of-the-art initiatives thanks to Copernicus
In March 2014, the European Capital of Innovation ‘iCapital’ prize was awarded to Barcelona (Spain). Starlab, an SME based in the Catalan city, has supported the City Council of Barcelona in the implementation of several innovative projects that are making the city more resilient to climate change and ensuring the welfare of citizens in many other ways.
read more