SPACE FOR EARTH AT ESA TO SUPPORT SOLVING GLOBAL SOCIETAL ISSUES - THE CASE OF SPACE & ENERGY

Space applications, space technologies and space-based services are omnipresent, though often hidden from view from the end user. On the ground, at sea and in the air, they form an indispensable part of modern everyday life, work and progress. Their gradual and steady integration has made space indispensable, critical and more strategic to modern societies than it ever was. With the maturation of the space sector continuing, its value, role and importance is bound to increase further, opening up entirely new fields for space infrastructure and the services it can provide. At the same time, new space programmes are continuously being conceived and built, making best use of the latest technologies and opening new fields not thought of before. This year, European space celebrates its 50 th anniversary, marking 50 years of cooperation within Europe and beyond to build programmes to bring knowledge and provide jobs. Within these programmes, many novel applications have been developed and tested, of which some are now commercially or freely available. Space has become indispensable for modern societies. Looking towards and preparing for the future, it is apparent that integrating space even further into modern societies and economies will be essential to achieving many of Europe’s most important policy goals as well as global challenges. Space assets with their inherently global reach constitute one of the tools for developing global answers. Integrating space assets into terrestrial systems poses a number of challenges, linked to the characteristics of space systems, the characteristics of the space sector and way space programmes are traditionally perceived and managed. The space sector has faced these challenges since its inception, though they become increasingly important as the role of space systems increases for modern societies. Successfully addressing these challenges is of prime importance for ESA’s “Space for Earth” initiative. The initiative deals with challenges that involve multiple space contributors from a variety of domains and focus on areas with identified needs, including contributions from space science, Earth observation, telecommunication, navigation, human space flight, microgravity, launchers or technology development. Di erent larger themes have already been identified: Energy, Oceans, Arctic and the Antarctic, each one linking with and benefiting from a variety of space assets types. In this paper, the rationale behind each theme is briefly presented, covering recent activities and potential future developments. The paper further analyses and categorises the type of challenges identified in the integration of space systems into larger terrestrial systems, highlighting trends and how these are likely a ecting the attractiveness of space before using the concrete case of space&energy initiative to illustrate the findings.