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Protecting through Space

9.10 - 9.50 GMT

Beauty and Fragility of Planet Earth - Space for our Climate

In order to tackle climate change, scientists and decision-makers need reliable data to understand how our planet is changing. For more than three decades, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Earth Observation satellites have been providing this data to address the challenges of our changing world. 

ESA satellites watch over our planet, helping to monitor, understand, model, predict and act on climate change and its related challenges. Their data and measurements support scientists to chart the evolution for the key components of the climate, better understand Earth system processes, predict future change and drive international action.

Hear from ESA experts who lead mission control for out-of-this-world programmes, who manage some of the most sophisticated Earth Observation spacecraft ever built, and learn about their crucial role in protecting our planet.

Plus, join in a live Q&A with these ESA experts.

Recommended for secondary schools


Image (right): ESA

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ESA’s pioneering science missions for Earth

Dr Thorsten Fehr - EarthCARE Mission Scientist, Earth Observation Science, Applications & Climate Department, European Space Agency

Journey to space and back with Thorsten Fehr from ESA’s Mission Science Division. Discover the phenomenal range of ESA’s Earth Observation missions, their pioneering scientific and technical excellence and their crucial protection for our planet.

View the recent launch of EarthCARE, the largest and most complex Earth Explorer mission. With the climate crisis increasingly tightening its grip, ESA’s Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer mission (EarthCARE) is shedding new light on the complex interactions between clouds, aerosols and radiation in Earth’s atmosphere. 

Learn about other Earth Observation missions on the horizon, such as the Earth Explorer Biomass satellite due to be launched in 2025 from Kourou, the European spaceport in French Guiana. This mission is designed to deliver crucial information about the state of our forests, how they are changing, and further our knowledge of the role forests play in the carbon cycle.


Satellite spotlight with ESA’s Earth Observation Mission Control 

Tommaso Parrinello - CryoSat-2 Mission Manager, European Space Agency

Leading the spotlight on this most crucial satellite is Tommaso Parrinello who works at ESRIN, ESA’s center in Italy dedicated to Earth Observation, a crucial gateway for much of the data coming down from satellites continuously looking at our planet. 

Tommaso has overall responsibility of the CryoSat-2 satellite, one of the most important missions to have contributed to a better understanding of the planet and, in particular, how it is responding to global warming. He is in charge of its operations and works with the international scientific community to ensure CryoSat-2’s invaluable data are used to benefit society.

Space satellite missions provide scientists vital data to help understand the changes in the land and ice on our planet. Satellites watch over our planet continuously, helping to monitor, understand, model, predict and tackle climate change and its related challenges. Earth Observation satellites tasked to provide data for the ice ecosystems - such as the polar regions, glaciers and sea ice - support scientists researching the measurement and mitigation of climate change on these precious areas of our planet, helping us all today and for the future.  


Image: ESA

Image showing ESA Earth Observation missions (satellites around the Earth)