The IAF Global Space Conference on Climate Change (GLOC 2023) convened the week of 5/22/23 to discuss climate change and to explore contributions that the space community is making to inform smarter and more effective policies. Considering the importance of this topic and to highlight the efforts of the space community to contribute data and ideas as we all work together to address climate change, the IAF suggested the creation of a one-time award to be bestowed during the GLOC 2023 Conference.
The “ESA-JAXA-NASA Earth Observing Dashboard” ( https://eodashboard.org ) was identified as the best candidate to represent an organization/project that had an outstanding impact on societies across the globe, and that can act as a model for future such projects.
The IAF recognized that “this unique and innovative platform combines the resources, technical knowledge, and expertise of three agencies, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), making essential Earth Observation data available to everyone across the globe. Together, NASA, ESA, and JAXA represented a great human asset: advancing Earth-observing instruments in space that are used every day to benefit society and advance knowledge about our home planet.”
The Dashboard provides an easy-to-use resource for all kinds of audiences from scientists to decision-makers, including people not familiar with satellites. Based on remote sensing observations, and drawing on existing datasets, it showcases examples of global environmental changes on 7 themes: Atmosphere, Oceans, Biomass, Cryosphere, Agriculture, Covid-19 and Economy.
Marshall Space Flight Center’s Earth Science Data Science Team was instrumental in this innovative and transformative project.
