MESEO aims to design, prototype and demonstrate an open, flexible and scalable multi-mission EO End-to-End system for massive processing. It will improve performance bottlenecks either on board or on ground while ensuring Space data sovereignty. The main goal of the proposed approach is to improve quality of service and timeline reactivity by improving the End-to-End EO chain at different levels and processing edges while reducing communication bandwidth and incorporating new technology optimised in power consumption and processing capabilities. MESEO will promote a collaborative digital ecosystem enabled by an EO Coordinator Centre together with distributed and heterogeneous Processing Functions. Those Functions will be exported through harmonized interfaces which will ensure the data sovereignty. EO ecosystem players will register their products/services as exported Functions into the ecosystem. The EO Coordinator Centre will control which registered Processing Function to activate in a transparent manner for optimal End-to-End performance, from either timing or quality point of view, for a given End-User request. MESEO specifically addressed both upstream and downstream parts of the EO data processing value chain in a transparent manner. Performance enhancements analysis will tackle major bottlenecks on each link of the EO data processing running either on board or on ground. MESEO proposed innovations will address such bottlenecks. Green Deal related pilot applications (methane monitoring and crops classification) will serve to demonstrate the performance enhancements due to the proposed innovations.

While Earth Observation (EO) data has become ever more vital to understanding the planet and addressing societal challenges, applications are still limited by revisit time and spatial resolution. Though low Earth orbit missions can achieve resolutions better than 100 m, their revisit time typically stands at several days, limiting capacity to monitor dynamic events. Geostationary (GEO) missions instead typically provide data on an hour-basis but with spatial resolution limited to 1 km, which is insufficient to understand local phenomena. SURPRISE’s main objective is to implement a demonstrator of a super-spectral EO payload - working in the visible, near- and mid-infrared and conceived to operate from GEO platform - with enhanced capability in spatial resolution, onboard data processing and encryption functionalities. SURPRISE develops two disruptive technologies: Compressive Sensing (CS) and Spatial Light Modulator (SLM). CS optimises data acquisition (e.g. reduced storage and transmission bandwidth requirements) and enables novel onboard processing and encryption functionalities. SLM here implements the CS paradigm and achieves a super-resolution architecture. SLM technology, at the core of the CS architecture, is addressed by: reworking and testing off-the-shelf parts in relevant environment; developing roadmap for a European SLM, micromirror array-type, with electronics suitable for space qualification. By introducing for the first time the concept of a payload with medium spatial resolution (few hundreds of meters) and near continuous revisit (hourly), SURPRISE can lead to a EO major breakthrough and complement existing operational services. CS will address the challenge of large data collection, whilst onboard processing will improve timeliness, shortening time needed to extract information from images and possibly generate alarms. Impact is relevant to industrial competitiveness, with potential for market penetration of the demonstrator and its components.

The Open and Universal Science (OPUS) project will develop coordination and support measures to reform the assessment of research and researchers at Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) and Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) towards a system that incentivises and rewards researchers to practise Open Science. We understand the term ‘Open Science’ to refer to practices providing open access to research outputs, early and open sharing of research, participation in open peer-review, measures to ensure reproducibility of results, involving all stakeholders in cocreation. We henceforth in this proposal employ this interpretation of Open Science with a specific focus on reforming the research(er) assessment system to incentivise and reward researchers to take up these practices. OPUS employs a three-tiered approach to ensure representation and consensus building of key stakeholder groups in the Open Science ecosystem: (1) our large project consortium consists of researcher organisations, RPOs, RFOs, industry organisations, and experts in project management, public relations, and Open Science (2) a series of stakeholder engagement sessions will be held with the broader community to gather input and validate key project deliverables (3) an Advisory Board of key representatives will ensure expert oversight and links to the community. • Objective 1: Conduct a comprehensive state-of-the-art on existing literature and initiatives for Open Science • Objective 2: Develop a comprehensive set of interventions to implement Open Science at RPOs and RFOs • Objective 3: Develop realistic indicators and metrics to monitor and drive Open Science at RPOs and RFOs • Objective 4: Test the interventions and indicators and metrics via action plans in pilots at RPOs and RFOs • Objective 5: Utilise a stakeholder-driven feed-back loop to develop, monitor, refine, and validate actions • Objective 6: Synthesise outcomes into policy briefs and a revised OS-CAM2 for research(er) assessment

NEOROCKS improves knowledge on physical characterization of Near Earth Objects (NEOs) for planetary defense. NEOROCKS connects expertise in performing small body astronomical observations and the related modelling needed to derive their dynamical and physical properties, to the pragmatic planetary defense approach, which aims to provide operational loops and information systems to protect citizens and ground infrastructures from potential threats. The challenge for physical characterization is to keep up with the increasing NEO discovery rate. The challenge for planetary defense is to keep up with the trend of NEO discoveries dominated by small-size objects near the Earth, capable to produce damage in case of impact. Among them, are “imminent impactors” with short warning times. NEOROCKS proposes an innovative approach, focused on: a) a team of expert astronomers with access to large aperture telescopes equipped with state of the art instrumentation; b) investigating the relationship between orbit determination of newly discovered objects and quick execution of follow-up observations, to provide SW technologies to face imminent impactors threats; c) profiting from European industrial expertise on Space Situational Awareness (SSA) to plan and execute breakthrough experiments on remote tasking of highly automatized robotic telescopes for rapid response; d) extremely high standards in data dissemination, thus scaling up results to global level and exploiting results (through ASI Space Science Data Centre). NEOROCKS will optimize observational activities, enhance modelling and simulation tasks, foster international coordination and speed-up response times. It will ensure availability of results and public education. It joins top scientists with extensive NEO observation and physical characterization expertise, governmental institutions with access to large infrastructures, industrial partners participating in SSA programs and expertise in outreach and management.

Protecting citizens and freedoms is one of the four European Union priorities in its 2019-2024 strategic agenda, with a priority to increase the EU's resilience against both natural and man-made disasters. The EU’s autonomy and independence is essential to implement the common security policy, including the governmental communications. SATCOM represents the ideal communication means for covering large geographical areas or operations deployed in remote or isolated sites. The European Union Governmental Satellite Communications (EU GOVSATCOM) Programme aims at providing secure, guaranteed and cost-effective SATCOM services to EU governmental stakeholders, such as Member States (MS) and related security organisations and EU Agencies or institutions with special emphasis on civilians. Its concept relies on the aggregation of the SATCOM demand and the pooling & sharing of the SATCOM service supply. GEXTRECS will define and demonstrate an End-to-End GOVSATCOM Service supporting Crisis Management. GEXTRECS will: 1/ prototype the Dynamic Planner, in order to de-risk an important GOVSATCOM Ground segment element, in order to enable dynamic SATCOM resources allocation in the most optimal manner, making use of advance heuristics; 2/ integrate a Network Balancer, which will enable the required interoperability ensuring that secure communications are preserved when using different communications networks; 3/ illustrate GOVSATCOM synergies with other components of EU Space Programme. The GEXTRECS innovation will be demonstrated in two use cases (land and maritime) in real End-User environments, while exploiting synergies with other EU Space Programme components such as Copernicus and Galileo. Annual demonstrations will simulate exercises in land cross-border and multinational maritime use cases. GEXTRECS partners covers the full SATCOM added value chain with GMV, HISDESAT, TTCOMM and the End-Users (ISAR, CSIC) complemented by POLSA as hub of the ENTRUSTED Network Of Users.