ESA bolsters Greece's Earth observation with new contracts

ESA bolsters Greece's Earth observation with new contracts
by Erica Marchand
Paris, France (SPX) Nov 15, 2024
The European Space Agency (ESA) has taken a major step to enhance Greece's Earth observation capabilities through the signing of six key contracts. These agreements support Greece's National Satellite Space Project, a new initiative launched at the end of 2023 by the Ministry of Digital Governance to boost satellite technology and applications in the country.

This project, funded under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility, is aimed at reinforcing Greece's satellite capabilities, promoting data exchange, fostering job creation, and contributing to national prosperity. Following the initial contracts for satellite system development, these new agreements advance the third component (Axis-3) of the project, focusing on services to create a comprehensive Earth observation system.

Axis-3 covers the conversion of raw satellite data into tailored, timely, and actionable information, serving key areas such as agriculture, forest and water monitoring, land analysis, and safety and security. The processed data will be hosted on a governmental IT hub, ensuring seamless access and distribution to various users.

ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli, noted, "Built on a strong partnership between the Greek government, industry and ESA, the Greek National Satellite Space Project exemplifies the power of collaboration, positioning Greece as a key player in Earth observation. These six new contracts for Axis-3 mark a key step in establishing an end-to-end system to transform satellite data into actionable insights for environmental monitoring and for safety and security. I would further like to stress that the development of this industrial capacity and the future availability of operational services is crucial, not only for Greece, but for Europe at large."

The newly signed contracts include:

1. Planetek Hellas (with Space Hellas, Neuropublic, and Knowledge) to create the governmental hub for processing and distributing satellite data from Greece's constellation, ensuring accessibility for governmental bodies.

2. AgroApps (with Space Hellas, EOFarm, Agricultural University of Athens, Cloud Signals, and TotalView) to lead the agriculture monitoring service, which will include crop type mapping, soil moisture monitoring, and crop growth analysis.

3. Planetek Hellas (with NTUA, NOA, FORTH, KEMEA, and KETYAK) to develop a safety and security service focusing on flood risk assessment, wildfire analysis, and surveillance.

4. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Geosystems Hellas to oversee the forest monitoring service, which includes mapping forest types and fuel, as well as monitoring forest and natural areas.

5. TotalView (with ICCS, CDXi Solutions, KEMEA, and Thessaloniki Water Supply and Sewerage Co.) to implement the water monitoring service, which will focus on assessing water quality and quantity and maritime surveillance.

6. Geosystems Hellas (with FORTH, NOA, Consortis Geospatial, University of Patras, NTUA, WINGS ICT, and MPLegal) to carry out the land monitoring service, addressing land use, deformation monitoring, and urban analytics.