Terrascope-II agreement signed by State Secretary Thomas Dermine
On behalf of the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO), State Secretary for Science Policy Thomas Dermine signed an agreement with VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek) to secure continuous access to satellite data and derived products from the Sentinel constellation, and related image processing services to continue supporting all Belgian users for at least another 5 more years. Terrascope is the Belgian collaborative ground segment launched in 2017 to provide easy access to open-source satellite data of the European Commission’s Copernicus programme. With this agreement the service can now be guaranteed until the end of 2028.
Objective information for research and operational services
Earth observation data provides key information related to global environmental challenges such as climate change, global warming, and food security, but it is also used in local applications for agriculture, urban development, coastal management, and many more. By facilitating the access of Earth observation data Terrascope aims to support researchers, public authorities, and commercial companies to use the massive amounts of free and objective data in both research activities as well as operational processes.
Easy access to satellite data products and cloud processing services
The Terrascope platform provides easy access to Earth observation data from the Copernicus Sentinel constellation but also to unique data sets from the SPOT-Vegetation and PROBA-V missions which will also remain available to all users until 2028 hereby safeguarding long-term time-series of global vegetation change. Via the Terrascope viewer, everyone can easily search and use satellite images and derived products. For comprehensive analyses, cloud processing offers an efficient solution, eliminating the necessity to download satellite data. Thanks to the new agreement, these services remain accessible free of charge to all users including citizens, researchers, governments, public authorities and industry.
Integration with the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem
Under the new contract, Terrascope will also integrate the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem which was launched in July 2023. This integration will empower Terrascope users to access all Copernicus Sentinel data globally available.
