UK Space Agency awarded £15m of funding for technologies to monitor the Earth from space

New funding for satellite Earth Observation technologies, which are critical to improving humanity’s understanding of our planet and its climate, is now available for UK organisations, the UK Space Agency announced today (2 August).

The £15m will support the research and experimental development of space-based instruments, aimed at supporting a range of environmental services, which could include meteorology, climate monitoring, environmental management, agriculture and urban planning, and improving scientific knowledge.

The UK is already a world leader in Earth Observation (EO) tools, technologies, and data use. This funding will help to accelerate the development of promising UK EO technologies which could be flown on satellites in the next few years.

The National Space Strategy in Action report, published in July, set out the government’s plans for how the UK will remain at the forefront of EO technology and know-how for commercial and public services.

Minister of State at the department for science, innovation and technology, George Freeman MP, said: “Earth Observation technology is critical to tackling the fundamental challenges of our age from monitoring climate change to responding to humanitarian disasters and so we owe it to the future of our planet to harness the UK’s world-leading skills in this field.

“This pivotal technology doesn’t stop there and from ensuring the safety of bridges to enabling our farmers get the best from their land, this £15m investment will boost our economy and drive forward our ambition to make the UK a science superpower.”

The Earth Observation Technology Programme funding, delivered by the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI), is part of a £400m package announced in November 2022 to support the UK’s Earth Observation sector. The £15m funding will cover Pathfinder projects of up to £75,000, Fast Track projects of up to £250,000, and Flagship projects of up to £3m.

Chris Brownsword, director of the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation, said: “This call for grant proposals is the 16th the CEOI has released on behalf of the UK Space Agency and represents a significant increase over past funding opportunities.

“It will continue to support innovative new technology developments, paving the way for future novel UK developed instruments, but importantly will also provide significantly larger grants to make a step change in the pace of technology development.

“It has been recognised that previous CEOI calls have had major impact across the entire UK Earth Observation community; bringing together academia and industry to develop UK owned technologies. We are excited to see what successes this new call can facilitate.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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