Conference Paper

Eurisy aims at seizing the interest of the space community towards arts to launch a project specifically dedicated to “Space for Arts”. Today, the availability of new technologies and digital tools allows for unexpected synergies among artists and space experts. Indeed, the space sector is including arts among its areas of interest, as shown by the organisation of a session dedicated to Contemporary Arts Practice and Outer Space within the International Astronautical Congress. This interest is motivated by the multiplication of photographic, video and graphic experiences (also including VR and 3D), inspired or powered by space. Satellite imagery in particular, has been not only used to show the artistic beauty of the planet, but also to capture large artworks from the sky.

This paper provides a short introduction on how aerial photography and satellite imagery have changed our way of looking at the Earth, inspiring art movements and allowing for the discovery and appreciation of ancient and more recent artworks.

Recently, Eurisy launched the initiative Space4Maritime. The objective is to identify and understand the needs of European maritime end-user communities, facilitating the dialogue with the space industry and the uptake of satellite services. In this frame, Eurisy started a series of interviews with end-users identified in the blue world. The result of these interviews is the core of the paper. The overall objective is to identify the existing operational solutions applicable in the maritime domain through practical examples, as well as the bottlenecks that harness the potential of satellite applications for the sustainable growth of the Blue Economy.

The paper will mainly address service providers and public authorities, providing them with a set of recommendations on how to foster cooperation with maritime operators. But it also targets potential new end-users interested in adopting satellite solutions in their workflow. The case studies will be complemented further by additional information collected through desk research and the organization of thematic webinars.

The improvement of STEAM education in secondary schools is the core objective of the Erasmus+ funded project “GIS4Schools”, which aims at promoting a new innovative approach to foster the teaching of STEAM subjects in secondary schools across four different European countries: Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Spain. The project intends to introduce the education of GIS and satellite technologies for Earth Observation- rarely adopted in secondary schools- and applying them to the thematic area of Climate Change.

The paper will illustrate the genesis of the project, and more specifically, the process leading to the development of training packages for secondary schools’ teachers and pupils. Furthermore, the paper will explore which methodology and pedagogic approach must be adopted to transfer new knowledge from teachers to pupils. The paper will also describe how the teaching of GIS and satellite technologies for Earth observation in secondary school can impact pupils’ perception of STEAM subjects and how this can impact their future academic careers. Specific attention will also be dedicated to the description of the innovative tools developed and applied for monitoring and evaluation.

The 2020 UN/Austria Symposium “Space Applications for Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action” took place from 1-3 September 2020.

The event aimed to showcase concrete climate action cases through demonstrations of applications using space solutions. Users of space applications presented lessons learnt and experts discussed the role of space applications in climate-related policies. On the 2nd of September, Eurisy gave a presentation on the basis of this abstract.

Marking a decade in collecting user stories and testimonials on satellite-based applications, Eurisy looks back at lessons learned, analysing market and customer-service provider developments in Europe along the way. The paper details our user-centric approach which supports bridging the gaps between upstream and downstream satellite sectors and turns it into into a scalable model outside European borders. The paper was presented at the 70th International Astronautical Congress 2019, 21-25 October in Washington DC.

European investments in space are expected to stimulate the development of the downstream value-added sector by boosting the large-scale adoption of satellite-based technologies to foster new, innovative services and deliver impactful socio-economic growth. Yet, their wide scale adoption and use has remained slow across various sectors and fields. Most often than not, public policies have played a bigger role in hindering satellite-based services adoption, rather than the perceived technology challenges themselves. The current paper reflects on the policy bottlenecks identified by Eurisy in telemedicine and emergency calling sectors. The paper was presented at the 70th International Astronautical Congress 2019, 21-25 October in Washington DC.

Geological and landscape diversity is an essential part of the European culture. It characterises our rural and urban environments and offers the resources needed to sustain human communities. To monitor and protect geological heritage, back in 2003 the European Parliament stressed the importance of harmonising analytical methods to obtain comparable soil data and of increasing the exchange of information among Member States on soil, topography, structure and natural form of the land in Europe (European Parliament, 2003).
Today, satellites offer the opportunity to collect and access geological and biological information covering large areas, including urban, rural and natural environments at the micro and macro regional levels. On their own initiative, or within European and national schemes, local and regional managers are already using satellite services to monitor, protect and promote geological, landscape and biological diversity. To disseminate the results of these initiatives is fundamental to capitalise on experience to develop new services adapted to local needs, and to set the basis for the establishment of an integrated coherent system to manage geodiversity in Europe. Eurisy, a non-profit association of space agencies, works to foster awareness of operational uses of satellite applications in this and other sectors. Paper presented at the 12th European Geoparks Conference, Cilento and Vallo di Diano Geopark, Italy, 4-6 September 2013.

Case study observations confirm that the merits of the technology alone, and a technology-driven approach does not necessarily convince the user to adopt this new technology. Similarly, top-down measures to stimulate take-up are not sufficient unless they are accompanied by grassroots support to the potential end-users in their appropriation of these tools. Such support should be based on a better understanding of their operational needs and the economic realities on the field. Cooperation between early adopters and potential end-users on a peer-to-peer level, relationships between potential end-users and technologists that are based on a real business case for service use as opposed to service development, as well as political drive on all levels, including sub-national, are all crucial factors in bringing about the kind of social change that translates an effective penetration of the satellite services within society. Paper presented at the International Astronautical Congress 2012.

This paper presented at the 2012 Toulouse Space Show, France aims at underlining, through concrete examples, how European cities make the most of satellite information and services, and satellite navigation in particular, to achieve sustainable urban mobility and create viable alternatives to owning a private vehicle. Without being exhaustive, the operational examples described also show how the integration of satellite information and services in urban mobility strategies benefits other policy areas of increasing importance, like health and social inclusion.

The Paper outlined Eurisy’s User Programme objectives, methodology and results. It was presented at the IAF 2008 IAC conference in Glasgow (IAC-08-D1.1.01.)