Climate change is the biggest environmental challenge facing the world's population today. To address this important issue, decision-makers around the world are now putting their heads together for accurate information on climate change as well as predictions of what will happen in the future.
Basic knowledge of how the earth works as one system is the foundation of all this. And these intricate pieces of the puzzle mainly come from satellites orbiting our planet. The reality is that data from Earth observation satellites require strategic measures for climate change to bring their greatest advantages, furthermore science, and ultimately the greatest benefit to humankind.
To that end, ESA and NASA joined forces to understand climate change. Tony Tolker Nielsen, acting head of the ESA's Earth Observation Program, said: We are already witnessing the effects of climate change through rising temperatures, rising sea levels, melting ice, and thawing permafrost. These problems must be studied with outstanding tools and the expertise to advance Earth science.
They aim to pave the way for the global response to climate change by monitoring the earth and the environment with combined efforts in geoscience observation, research, and application.
"Climate change is an all-hands-on-deck. We will set a standard for future international cooperation to answer and address the most pressing questions in Earth science for the benefit of the world.”." Bill Nelson of NASA Administrator stated.
The ESA and NASA teams have already worked together on field campaigns in the Arctic to validate CryoSat and ICEsat missions. They also work with other partners on the recently launched Copernican Sentinel-6 mission, a new mission to extend the long-term record of sea-level rise.
