The UK Space Agency has announced it will fund £15m to support the development of Earth Observation satellites and technologies.
Earth Observation satellites are critical for monitoring our planet, such as meteorology, climate monitoring, environmental management, agriculture, and urban planning.
The funding will support UK organisations in research and experimental development of Earth observation instruments that could be flown on satellites in the coming years.
The UK is already a global leader in Earth Observation technologies, and the recently published National Space Strategy in Action report outlines how the country will remain at the forefront of the sector.
George Freeman, the UK Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, explained: “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 to 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.”
Funding was made available through the Earth Observation Technology Programme
The £15m funding is provided as part of the £400m Earth Observation Technology Programme, which is delivered by the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI).
Harshbir Sangha, Missions and Capabilities Delivery Director at the UK Space Agency explained the importance of the funding.
Sangha said: “Satellite technology is essential to our daily lives, helping us to monitor climate change and protect our environment, manage our resources, respond to global humanitarian disasters and support sustainable development.
“This funding will help catalyse investment across the sector to support a range of innovative projects, from developing new sensor technologies to using the data for improved understanding of climate change.”
What projects will be supported?
The funding will cover up to £75,000 for Pathfinder projects, fund Fast Track projects up to £250,000, and Flagship projects of up to £3m.
Pathfinder and Fast Track projects will pioneer innovative technologies, early-stage research, and lab-based experimental hardware.
Additionally, Flagship projects will accelerate technology development further, such as instruments capable of working in harsh environments like vacuum chambers and airborne demonstration flights.
Chris Brownsword, Director of the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation, reiterated this exciting funding opportunity for UK Earth Observation innovators.
He concluded: “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 a 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.”
