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WASHINGTON, May 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ The measures countries have taken in response to COVID-19, ranging from large-scale lockdowns to the mass deployment of personal protective equipment, have resulted in environmental effects. To study those, NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will host an Earth Observation Dashboard Hackathon from June 23-29, taking advantage of powerful Earth observation tools.
During the weeklong, virtual event, participants will create teams and solve various socioeconomic and environmental challenges using data from the dashboard gathered over the duration of the pandemic. All coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists are encouraged to participate in the hackathon. Registration is now open.
Join ESA, NASA and JAXA for the Earth observation COVID-19 hackathon
Do you have ideas on how Earth observation data can solve some of the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic? If so, ESA, NASA and JAXA invite you to join a virtual Earth Observation Dashboard Hackathon taking place on 23-29 June. Registration for the hackathon opens today.
Earth observation data have proven crucial in documenting changes in the environment owing to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, ESA, NASA and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in an unprecedented collaboration joined forces to create the Earth Observation Dashboard, an interactive platform that combines a wealth of data from Earth-observing satellites to monitor the worldwide impacts of COVID-19.
Copernicus Masters 2021 submissions open
The Copernicus Masters 2021 competition is now open for submissions. This international competition awards prizes to innovative solutions, developments and ideas for business and society that use satellite data from the Copernicus programme.
The Copernicus programme offers free and near real-time access to data that substantially contribute to socio-economic benefits, as well as smart and sustainable growth. The programme fosters the development of innovative solutions in many domains and helps to achieve the priorities of the European Union, such as the Green Deal, making Europe fit for the digital age.
Over the past 10 years, ESA and Germany’s AZO Anwendungszentrum GmbH have organised the annual Copernicus Masters competition, along with the support of world-class partners, to inspire and help entrepreneurs bring their innovations forward.
ESA and FAO unite to tackle food security and more
With ESA positioned as a world-class provider of Earth observation data and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) leading international efforts to defeat hunger, the two organisations have teamed up to exploit their particular fields of expertise to better address major global issues such as food security, and to take further advantage of the digital transformation in agriculture.
Formalising this new cooperation, ESA’s Acting Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Toni Tolker-Nielsen, and the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Chief Economist, Máximo Torero, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. This new formal agreement builds on the organisations’ long-standing collaboration, which has already shown how information from satellites can bring benefits both nationally and globally.