Report on the Programme Board of the Group on Earth Observation

The 26th Programme Board (PB) meeting of GEO, the COSPAR Task Group on Earth Observation, was held on 15-16 June 2023 in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) building in Geneva, Switzerland. The role of the PB is to oversee the establishment of the multi-year GEO Work Programmes, and work to align proposed activities with GEO priorities and committed resources. During the meeting, the PB Members met with contributors to the GEO Work Programmes, connecting ideas and contributions to GEO’s Strategic Objectives to advocate, engage and deliver Earth observation data and information. Various working groups, such as the GWP (GEO Working Programme) 2023-25, the Pacific Islands Advisory Group, Regional GEOs, and Future Direction of GEO Working Groups, reported on the current situation.

Future directions were also discussed. For example, the direction of ‘Global Intelligence’ in GEO’s post-2025 strategy was impressive, and it is clear that Earth observation from space in the future will have great impact. Links of GEO’s post-2025 strategy include https://earthobservations. org/geo_post25.php, and https://earthobservations.org/documents/post_2025/202306_geo_ post_2025_strategy_draft.pdf

A GEO Ministerial Summit will be held in Cape Town, South Africa on 10 November 2023 and adoption of a declaration is planned. The current status of preparations was reported for the Ministerial Summit by co-Chairs (one each selected from participating organizations and COSPAR).

The website for the GEO Ministerial Summit can be found at https://www.earthobservations. org/geoweek2023.php. The strapline for the Summit is "The Earth is talking and it’s time to listen. Climate. Biodiversity. Air quality. The planet has a lot to say about the things that each and every one of us depends on. But can you hear what it’s saying?"

The website goes on to say: "There is more data than ever before on our changing Earth. The problem is that many people can’t get hold of it, and when they can, it’s in a language they don’t understand. If we’re going to act on what the planet is saying, we need an organization that can bring together the best Earth observation data, technology and science and translate it into free, trusted information that makes sense to everyone. That organization is GEO. We are coming together at the Cape Town Ministerial Summit to shape our future and respond to the Earth’s calls for action."

The deadline for registration is 6 October 2023.

See the invitation to the Ministerial Summit on page 48.

Pyramids, the Sphynx, Pharaohs, Mummies, Sarcophagi and… Space Science!

[Jean-Claude

Those are what many people will immediately think about when talking about Egypt, and of course, those are absolute wonders. However, in our own field, Egypt is also a country that was involved in space activities at the very start of the space race, i.e. in 1957, when tracking stations started following Sputnik-1, and this specific activity continues to this day, for instance with the project to build a global monitoring station for tracking satellites and debris.

Egypt, through its Academy of Scientific Research and Technology–ASRT has been a member of COSPAR for many years and we are enjoying friendly and active collaboration. In June of this year, I was extremely proud to be able to visit the Egyptian Space Agency – EgSA. I met with Dr Sherif Sedky, CEO of EgSA, Dr Ayman Ahmed, Head of Payload Systems, and other specialists from the Egyptian Space Agency. I also met Professor Gad ElQady, President of the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics - NRIAG, and many esteemed colleagues from academia constituting the Egyptian National Committee for COSPAR.

Egyptian facilities in support of space research and astronomy are thoroughly impressive and undergoing rapid and exciting developments, such as the upgrading of the Kottamia Astronomical Observatory (modern astronomy in Egypt started at the end of the 19th century), or the development of the new Assembly, Integration and Testing facility at EgSA, established in collaboration with China.

I was privileged to be able to visit all the facilities on site and get a glimpse of the splendid headquarters of the recently established African Space Agency – AfSA, which is currently being built nearby in New Cairo and hosted by Egypt and EgSA. COSPAR is very much looking forward to initiating active collaborations with AfSA and its constituency, i.e. countries that are members of the African Union Commission.

"Modern started at the end of the 19th century"

The new headquarters of the newly established African Space Agency in New Cairo, Egypt.

We discussed several projects to implement together with EgSA and the Egyptian space science community. Those include series of Capacity Building Workshops to be organized in Egypt in the near future, participation in the COSPAR Constellation of Small Satellites for Space Science, or climate change related activities to be developed by COSPAR.

My most grateful thanks to our Egyptian colleagues and organizations!