Over 4000 people are here in Milan
at the largest Earth observation conference in the world
From science to street art
here are some of the highlights
for the 2019 Living Planet Symposium
The event brought together
world-class scientists, engineers, business leaders,
politicians, educators, representatives from space agencies,
international organisations and industry
to discuss the latest in Earth observation
and pave the way for the future of the sector
Satellites take the pulse of our planet
delivering crucial information
to help solve our biggest global problem
climate change
You are the scientists for future
Since you are delivering this important research
you are also carrying a great responsibility
You have to keep being scientifically correct
With our demands
we are trying to unite behind the science
This week-long event
kicked-off with a series of presentations
on the latest in European space activities
and initiatives to protect our planet
and promote technological innovation
The symposium
is the event for scientists
who monitor various aspects of our planet using satellite data
to get together to share the latest discoveries
and new techniques in their domains
Three decades ago
the north magnetic pole began to sprint from its historic position
over northern Canada towards Siberia
Using data from Swarm
we’ve been able to unpick why this is happening
and it turns out to be due to a change
in the dynamics in Earth’s core
where the magnetic field is generated
The Sentinel-3 mission
is proving its capability
in carrying the torch forward
for now multi-decade record of snow-physical properties
Jakobshavn Isbrae
is one of the world’s fastest flowing glaciers
on the west coast of Greenland
In recent years
we’ve seen it speed up
reaching maximum speeds of 17 km a year in the summertime
And we’ve used Sentinel-1 data
to track the speed that the ice moves
But recently we’ve seen a slowdown
in the rate that the ice is flowing into the ocean
At the same time
we’ve used Cryosat 2 data
to measure the rate of surface elevation change on this glacier
and we can see its reversed its signal
from strong thinning
to actually strong thickening now
The scientific results have far-reaching benefits for the global society
as we seek a balance in the exploitation of our planet’s resources
We have more than 6000 satellites orbiting our planet
providing us data on a daily basis
This data can provide us vital information about our Earth’s resources
and can help ensure a sustainable future
and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
In the strive for sustainability
international cooperation is key
both in space and on the ground
To tackle societal challenge
like environment and climate change
collaboration is essential
and sharing of resources is essential
And this is not only in space
but also in putting together the availability of the space data
and Earth observation data in particular
Typically, on the climate variables
we work all together to support the UNFCC objectives
the COP21 implementation
we work on the climate variables
contributing the data for missions and partners worldwide
Same thing in the International Charter Space and Major Disasters
15 space agencies working together
on the in-kind provision of data when a disaster happens in the world
We discuss here about the exchange of data,
calibration validation activities, technology developments,
standardisation, and also on future missions,
particularly Sentinel-6
A mission that will be shortly launched in the Copernicus context
a mission that is developed by ESA, CNES, the European Commission,
EUMETSAT, NOAA and NASA
The conference also offered a forum for data users
to get the latest information on the status of satellite missions
So although we have quite a short dataset available from the mission
we’ve actually seen that the data we have
has a significant impact on forecasts
Actually on the same order of other observing system currently
it’s a much longer dataset
We see impacts on the tropics
in the southern hemisphere
exactly where we expected it
and I’m very excited about these results
In order to obtain the data
and produce scientific results that give vital information on our planet
innovative technology and engineering is crucial
such as satellite operations
ESA’s operations is in the driving seat of the Sentinel and Earth Explorer missions
Our team keeps these keep these multi-million dollars machines
delivering top-quality Earth observation data
We keep them safe from space debris
we look at new ways of improving the products
through orbit determination, and lowering interruptions
and we research the future of Earth observation
like constellation missions
The symposium also offered the opportunity
to explore the commercial potential of satellite data
and the space sector’s role
in benefitting the European and global economy
Many, many, many, small businesses are coming
and discovering what they can do with free and open data
and really coming with new services,
new apps, monitoring of air quality,
agriculture development, agricultural production
for fisheries for ice coverage
many applications done by small businesses
so it’s really a fast-growing sector
and it’s nice to see that
Preparing for the future is fundamental to protecting our planet
and that includes educating the next generation of scientists
Students had the chance to participate
in a variety of educational activities at the Symposium
such as the Open Days where elementary
and middle-school students
learned about climate change and satellite remote sensing
through presentations and experiments
At the School Labs
students got hands-on experience with Earth sciences
and some of the technologies used to measure environmental variables
Well, this in an air quality sensor
that we developed together in ESRIN
with several of our colleagues
It measures different parameters of air quality
for example here is CO2, NO2,
temperature and humidity
then we have particulate matter
PM 2.5 and PM 10 is this sensor here
The idea was to give this kit to different schools
so they would assemble it themselves
and in that way would get closer
both to environment problems and space technology
It would be a fun way for them to get involved in this
and see it’s also something they can also do
There are many ways to get involved with the environment and space
without being a scientist or engineer
Street artist Shane Sutton
uses his medium to raise climate awareness
and spent the week painting a mural on the sidelines of the symposium
Just before Christmas
I made an application to the ESA Earth observation
and that was an open call for artists around Europe
to submit pieces about climate change
to become the artists or guest residents at the LPS
This is the picture that I submitted
and it’s based off of characters that I do called spacer
which are large street art space men
or astronauts, such as that
This one is simply about the daisy
an astronaut plucking a daisy
The reason for that
is really about man’s choice on climate change
and what we can do about it
So the reality is that
She Loves Me She Loves Me Not is the title
and it’s about that choice
of whether we want to or not want to
For more highlights from the 2019 Living Planet Symposium
visit our website at www.esa.int
I’m Romina Persi
for ESA Web TV
thanks for watching!