Under the theme “Restoring Land. Restoring Hope.”, the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) took place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 17 to 28 August 2026, attracting over 16.000 registered participants. The conference brought together representatives of the UNCCD’s 197 Parties (196 countries and …
The 2026 wildfire season has started early, with several European regions already experiencing significant fire activity, as highlighted by recent media reports (e.g. El País, Le Monde, The Guardian). Recent activations of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (the European Union’s emergency response service) for wildfires in France and Spain further underscore the continued need for …
The transition towards a climate-neutral future requires informed decisions across multiple sectors, from agriculture and energy to urban planning and environmental monitoring. Earth Observation (EO) technologies are increasingly playing a central role in providing the information needed to guide these decisions. This is being demonstrated with the Green Transition Information Factories concept, as outlined in …
In a significant step towards smarter urban management, ESA and AMA Roma – Rome’s municipal waste management agency – are demonstrating how Earth Observation can transform city operations. From identifying illegal waste dumping to monitoring ground stability, this collaboration showcases the growing role of space-based intelligence in addressing complex urban challenges. As cities grow in …
Since the latest updates on the Green Transition Information Factories (GTIF) initiative, significant progress has been achieved across multiple fronts, reinforcing the role of Earth Observation in supporting the Green Transition. This update highlights key developments, including new GTIF instances, operational services, national-level consolidation efforts, and the evolution toward Information Factory projects. It also announces …
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 …
