Europe's EO Community Needs Concrete Plan

摘要

One way to understand the evolution of Earth Observation from space is in terms of scientific, operational and commercial programs. Earth observation in Europe is marked by highlights in those three areas. Operational meteorology, oceanography and defense programs are success stories, and follow-on operational missions in these areas seem insured for the next 10 years. In addition, GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) is an emerging operational program as presented in the 2003 European Commission White Paper. The European Union, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Eumetsat are taking measures to insure a suitable GMES budget for the future, leading to a healthy operational program. Several spacecraft have been identified by ESA to provide the continuity of crucial land and ocean data.