Societal challenges like climate change and adaptation, digitalisation, mobility, renewable energy, sustainability and civil security are the main topics, for which the German Earth Observation Programme is striving to deliver contributions and solutions. As the largest contributor to the European Earth Observation Programme at ESA, Eumetsat and EC, Germany is shaping together with our international partners a user-driven, well-balanced, technological outstanding and long-term EO landscape for Earth science, operational services and downstream business. The German National EO Programme complements the European activities in terms of data exploitation, service development, technology preparation and mission development and operations. The TerraSAR-X and the TanDEM-X missions as the closest-ever in-orbit formation delivered a digital elevation model of all land masses enabling Earth System Science based on a homogeneous topographic data base. The 5 RapidEye satellites contributed significantly to Copernicus and had been integrated into Planets mega-constellation of Earth Observation satellites. The FireBird mission is operational since 2016. The German-US GRACE FO mission already demonstrated its capability to continue and enhance the successful GRACE mission. DESIS is delivering hyperspectral data from the ISS. With the hyperspectral EnMAP mission and the German-French MERLIN mission further elements of a German mission portfolio, complementary to ESA’s Earth Explorers, to the Copernicus Sentinels and to the EUMETSAT missions will be placed in orbit in the next years. In addition, with the in-kind contribution of the MetImage instrument to EUMETSAT’s post-EPS satellite system this operational satellite series will be able to provide indispensable data for Earth Observation applications. At the same time, new trends in EO like New Space, online platform and cloud processing, AI and HAPS are offering new potentials for service opportunities, which have to be taken into account.
With the long term data and service continuity as one of the major user requirements the strategy of Germany for its next generation of high resolution radar, Lidar, optical and hyperspectral space activities is of utmost importance. These plans and the role of these missions in the future global Earth Observation System will be introduced.

In 2015 a “Cabina di Regia” for the space sector was created at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, in close collaboration with ASI and several Ministries such as the Defence, the Research, the Economic Development with the aim to define, in an efficient and effective manner, the national space policy. Under this framework, the “Strategic Plan of the Space Economy” was elaborated with the objective to optimise and extend the value chain of the market sector: from research and development of space infrastructure (the so-called upstream) to the provision of innovative products and services (the so-called downstream).
In the next years, the main elements allowing Italy to keep a relevant role in the Earth Observation sector will include EO missions such as COSMO-SkyMed first (CSK) and second (CSG) generation constellations, and the PRISMA mission that will be the first European hyperspectral mission.
About the upstream, taking into account that the sensor technology is the fundamental domain allowing the technical feasibility of a space mission, the focus for future missions will be primarily on:
- Radar sensors, with the aim to maintain the technological leadership on SAR (Syntethic Aperture Radar) payloads;
- Hyperspectral and multispectral sensors, representing a key technology for the development of added value products;
- New generation of sensors based on new available technology (i.e.: big data capability and innovative system architecture).
There will be a focus also on small satellites programmes, where the development of modular “multi-purposed” standard platforms (as planned in the “PLATiNO” programme) will allow qualification and test of innovative technology for on-board equipment.
About the “downstream” sector, among the others, ASI will promote initiatives for studying disaster risk management, terrestrial and marine surface properties, atmosphere and climate change.
Data Exploitation initiatives, the development of Pilot Projects and demonstrators will foster the use of data and the growth of competence of the national community (institutional, scientific and commercial). Such initiatives will allow also a better identification of national solutions in line with Copernicus Ground Segment evolution and ESA Earth Observation Ground Segment Evolution Strategy, testing paradigms such as Mission Exploitation Platform and Thematic Exploitation Platform, considering new available technology (i.e.: big data) too.
In this context, among the others, the following general objectives will be pursued:
• Encouraging the market development of applications and services;
• Supporting and promoting national and European initiatives, highlighting the benefits of space technology & services and increasing the integration with different sectors of economy;
• Fostering the evolution and continuation of programmes such as Copernicus and the development of complementary programmes;
• Favouring the optimisation of the different European programmes, avoiding duplications and pursuing synergies;
• Sustaining the direct involvement of Large System Integrators and Small and Medium Enterprises.

References:
ASI Piano Triennale di Attività (PTA), https://www.asi.it/sites/default/files/attach/dettaglio/022_-_pta_2017-2019_-_pta_2017-2019_finale2.pdf
ASI Documento di Visione Strategica (DVS), https://www.asi.it/sites/default/files/attach/dettaglio/dvs-ita_web_0.pdf

CNES, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale, is the French space agency, responsible for shaping and implementing France’s space Policy at national, european and international levels. Among its five key domains (launchers, science, Earth observation, telecommunications and defence), Earth Observation programme is a pillar and covers the full scope of activities.
We will present the Earth Observation programme in its various aspects, "science and climate" drivers, current satellite missions and associated activities, international partnerships and initiatives, downstream applications development, as well as perspectives for the future.

Miniaturization of technology has enabled creation of small and very small capable spacecraft which can be launched to space in dozens with a single rocket. This has significantly reduced the threshold price of accessing the space. Continuously declining investment requirements for operation of space assets have opened new possibilities for business, education and science. Small countries who have previously concentrated only on science instruments in big international missions, find them in situation where university students start space programs and start-up companies build satellite constellations. Often this paradigm change is called the “New Space”. As a result of this development, the number of spacefaring countries has grown rapidly, venture capital and start-up culture have found space field and general aspiration level of space achievements is skyrocketing in the society.
On the national level, the New Space avant-garde is a subject of admiration and source of inspiration. However, at the same time rapid emergence of novel field rises also concerns related to international regulations, liabilities, agreements and sustainability of the development. Topics, such as space debris, radio frequency interference and espionage, rise worries. Many new spacefaring countries lack space related legislation and the field is often weakly organized.
In Finland the New Space developments started in 2010 with the first CubeSat project. The project rooted from student community but it integrated also professional payload development. The first satellite, experimental EO student satellite Aalto-1, was launched in 2017 and already 2018 the first commercial EO satellite, the Iceye X1, was launched. Both satellites were originally rooted from Aalto University CubeSat activities. By the end of 2018, three more satellites, namely X2, Hello World and Suomi 100, are launched. In coming years, the amount of Finnish EO satellites in orbit is growing steadily as the New Space companies have secured their development with investments. At the same time Finland has started also its first science missions with Finnish satellites.
The development of New Space field in Finland can be considered a success from many aspects. The development would not have been happened without support of various levels of evolving Finnish innovation system. For example Finland created new technology development program called New Space Economy and new space legislation was adopted in the beginning of 2018.
In the presentation an overview of Finnish EO satellite developments will be given and long term development trends envisioned.

The UK Space Agency is seeking to ensure that the UK’s participation in satellite earth observation is as strong as possible, maximising its potential for the economy and society. Our vision is that by 2040 satellite earth observations will provide the quality-assured data required to underpin mass market and business applications, global cutting-edge science and policy, and operational decision making. The UK is a world leader in developing new earth observation technologies as well as in the access and use of earth observation data for novel applications and services.

To realise this vision the Agency seeks to support the continued development of a broad and deep ecosystem of companies, big and small, dealing in the entire spectrum of earth observation issues from early research and development, manufacture and launch through the infrastructure and services needed to move, validate, share and interpret data into a format suitable for use. This presentation will elaborate on this vision and the Agency’s role across the spectrum of Earth Observation activities.

The presentation will outline the UK‘s continued international cooperation in earth observation activity (through organisations such as ESA, CEOS, GEO, EUMETSAT and ECMWF). An overview of current and planned earth observation missions and programmes the UK is supporting will be provided, including the creation of a seamless supply chain for climate services development. The presentation will also describe the development of the Agency’s work to ensure a skilled UK workforce with the capabilities to realise this vision, particularly the longer-term work the Agency is doing to inspire and equip new generations to fill the earth observation jobs that will be created in the UK.