Since its establishment in 1984, CEOS has evolved and adapted to meet the changing needs of society and to continue to fulfill its important role. This article celebrates the 40th anniversary of CEOS and looks back at the achievements and legacies of CEOS decade by decade.
1984~
The founding function of CEOS was to coordinate and harmonize Earth observations among its member space agencies. CEOS initially focused on interoperability, common data formats, the inter-calibration of instruments, and common validation and inter-comparison of products. In its founding year of 1984, the Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) was established to enhance coordination and complementarity, to promote international cooperation and to focus the calibration and validation of EO for the benefit of CEOS members and the user community. CEOS also established the Working Group on Data (WGD) and they created the CEOS Data Format to facilitate access and use of EO data by the user community. This has long served as the primary format for Earth observation satellite data and a foundation for data use.
1995~
Since the late 1980s, the international community put greater emphasis on the importance of integrating satellite-based observing systems with ground-based networks to establish global-scale observations. As international strategic planning of observations was essential to avoid duplication and to fill gaps in observational networks, the Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS) Partnership was established. CEOS provided analysis and inputs to a number of the major international coordination events, including the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, and the Earth Observation Summits in Washington, DC, Tokyo and Brussels. CEOS played an influential role in the establishment of GEO in 2005 and has since served as the space arm of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).
2005~
In support of GEO objectives and in order to harmonize efforts among space agencies to deploy Earth observation satellites with the aim of closing data gaps, in 2006 CEOS established four Virtual Constellations (VCs), being: Land Surface Imaging; Ocean Surface Topography; Atmospheric Composition; and Precipitation. VCs merge or integrate data and derived information for measurement and analysis by coordinating the operation of existing satellites across CEOS agencies and seek to optimise planning of future missions. The number of VCs has now grown to eight, suggesting that this approach has been effective and beneficial. In parallel, CEOS put greater emphasis on thematic applications of EO and established a Working Group on Climate (WGClimate) in 2010 and a Working Group on Disasters (WGDisasters) in 2013. CEOS also established a Working Group on Capacity Building and Data Democracy (WGCapD) in 2012 to increase the capacity of less developed countries for effective use of EO data for the benefit of society and to achieve sustainable development. These movements, coupled with the effects of open data policies which CEOS has long supported, have brought tremendous benefits to the user community as well as the expansion of the community itself.
2015~
As the user community expands, the international community’s expectations for Earth observation satellites, and thus for CEOS, are higher than ever. In 2015, the following three important international frameworks were successively adopted as CEOS priorities, and CEOS has since focused on and actively contributed to these frameworks.
- The Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction by UNDRR
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by UN
- The Paris agreement of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
CEOS engaged with these communities, helped them to understand satellite EO, and developed datasets for their purposes. Contributions to these frameworks remain major work in progress, and still more requests for CEOS support have been received from other communities – with increasing opportunities for cooperation are expanding. CEOS will continue to evolve with the times, mobilise the efforts of space agencies, and further expand the value of satellite EO.
Comments from the distinguished contributors to CEOS
In forty years CEOS has evolved from a technical cooperation among a small group of space agencies to a broad and diverse global partnership. CEOS has developed and embraced innovative mechanisms to serve its user communities through unimagined progress in EO satellite technologies for the benefit of humanity.
Stephen Briggs
Visiting Professor, Reading University, Department of Meteorology, Cambridge University, Department of Chemistry
The proposal for a CEOS was not widely popular with the space community. However, largely due, at that time, to the Canadians, the proposal started to gain support. The success over the years owes much to the solid Japanese support. CEOS has earned its place as an important player in the field of remote sensing
Roy Gibson
In 1992, a permanent CEOS Secretariat was established with members from Europe, the United States, and Japan. NASDA (now JAXA) of Japan actively promoted CEOS activities as a member of the CEOS Secretariat. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to develop close relationships with people from various countries through CEOS activities.
As part of the Secretariat’s work, the CEOS Newsletter has been published since 1993. The CEOS Newsletter has included reports on CEOS Plenary meetings and CEOS-SIT meetings, activity reports on WGs and VCs, and reports on CEOS contributions to IGOS, GEOSS/GEO, and UN activities (SDGs, disasters, climate issues). We are pleased that the CEOS Newsletter has enabled us to widely publicize CEOS activities and record the results of CEOS activities.
Yuiko Haruyama
Congratulations to CEOS and CEOS colleagues for its 40th Anniversary!
CEOS is truly an excellent model for international cooperations and coordination. I was raised by CEOS and it has been always a great place to learn and consider the future of the Earth.
Chu Ishida
For millennia, humans have used horses in Central Asia, river boats in Egypt, outriggers in Polynesia, and sailing ships from Europe to explore the earth. In seeking what was there, they became aware of who was there. Now it is the satellite’s turn. CEOS symbolizes the 20th century’s contribution to the historical movement towards globalization. The immediate beneficiaries have been resource management and global change research, but the long-lasting bonus is the friendships among national leaders who find common humanity in sharing a goal beyond the reach of any country
Charlie Kennel (about 40 years ago)
Distinguished Professor and Director Emeritus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Member, Centre for Science and Policy
Fellow Commoner, Christ’s College,
University of Cambridge. Cambridge, UK
It has been a great honor to have been part of creating CEOS in 1984 when I led the international affairs office at NOAA/NESDIS. Stimulated by the potential benefit for users to be able to easily access and integrate Landsat and SPOT data, CEOS has grown to be so much more. The fact that CEOS continues and thrives forty years later demonstrates that space agencies have found value in working together toward common goals on behalf of our shared planet. May CEOS continue to serve as a model for international cooperation and collaboration for many years to come
Lisa R. Shaffer
Former Director, NOAA/NESDIS International and Interagency Affairs, and former Director, NASA Mission to Planet Earth International Office
I congratulate CEOS on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, as commemorated at the recent 2024 Plenary in Montreal. As a young NASA International Affairs Specialist I participated with other international partners in the 1984 creation of CEOS as an outgrowth of the Group of Seven Economic Summit’s Panel of Experts on Remote Sensing from Space, Moving by 1988 to NOAA, I joined in 1992 the newly-created CEOS Secretariat, witnessing over the course of my career the marked growth and expansion of CEOS as the focal point for international coordination of space-related, Earth Observation activities—this through the addition of member space agencies and key organizational affiliates; the creation of the CEOS Strategic Implementation Team; and the establishment and active engagement of working groups focusing on systems and services, calibration/validation, global climate change, data exchange, education/capacity building, and disasters, as well as the identification of thematic virtual constellations. Measures of the value of CEOS have been its key involvement in connection with UN Sustainable Development Goals, its important role as the “space arm” of the Group on Earth Observations/GEO’s Global Observing System, and its key partnership in the Earth Observation activities of the International Astronautical Federation/IAF. It has truly been my honor to be involved in the development of CEOS and many of its activities. Together with you, I celebrate CEOS and its legacy
Brent Smith
CEOS has created a special movie to commemorate its 40th anniversary.
Please hear from the Principals of CEOS Agencies regarding the past, present and future of CEOS.
