For decades, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites quietly transformed how we observe Earth. From early defence missions to flagship Earth-observation platforms like ERS, Envisat, and Sentinel-1, SAR has been valued for its ability to see through clouds, darkness, and adverse weather. Today, a new chapter has begun. Small satellites, flying in coordinated constellations and …
As the COP30 takes place in Brazil, the world’s gaze turns to the Amazon, and to how ESA’s newly-launched BIOMASS satellite can help. This mission, equipped with the first ever P-band synthetic aperture radar capable of penetrating dense forest canopy to measure trunks, branches and stems, opens up a new chapter in assessing carbon storage. …
On 28 May 2025, a massive rock/ice avalanche detached from the Birch Glacier above the village of Blatten in the Lötschental valley (Valais, Switzerland). About 10 million cubic metres of rock and ice broke free, surged downslope and reached the valley floor, destroying the village and temporarily blocked the Lonza River. The sequence of events …
Building on the story published last February, this update highlights new advanced innovative Inverse-SAR (ISAR) algorithms developed and tailored for satellite platforms within the EO4Security ISAR project. These innovations support a wide range of use cases and represent significant progress in Earth observation for security applications. Techniques explored The following techniques were investigated: Parametric …
Contemporary history was characterized by heinous crimes committed during numerous conflicts that violated international law. Since 1998, when it was established, the International Criminal Court (ICC) took over the task “to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely the crime …
Are you interested in the role of EO in the health downstream sector? Don’t miss the opportunity to keep the pace with the latest applications and activities by attending the relevant LPS25 sessions, demos and meetings listed in the following overview table: After LPS25, stay tuned for the 22-25 September EO4Health User Forum …
If you’re looking to explore how space-based solutions are transforming our path toward a sustainable, low-carbon future, this year’s Living Planet Symposium in Vienna offers a rich lineup of sessions, agoras and networking opportunities focused on the Green Transition. The sessions will present how space solutions are powering the green transition and supporting climate action. They …
Advancements in space technologies in the last decades have laid the basis for a new era for space-based sensing exploiting Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging, spurred on by the potential to deploy constellations of micro-satellites equipped with antennae possessing significant gain and steering capabilities. Long dwell-time products with fine spatial resolution enable the extraction of …
It’s a great time to work in Earth Observation, with an unprecedented number of missions acquiring high-quality, freely accessible data. These are complemented by a whole ecosystem of analytic tools and software. The ESA Earth Observation Program (EOP) supports EO downstream industry in developing novel applications, and numerous innovative results are generated every year in …
The Big Data from Space 2025 (BiDS’25) event is the next milestone in a series of conferences (dating back to 2016) that bring together the global community to explore the transformative potential of space-derived big data and emerging technologies. Building on the success of previous editions, BiDS’25 will continue to foster collaboration, innovation, and knowledge-sharing …
