The Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) held its 45th plenary session on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, on 15-16 June. The World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Vision for the Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS) in 2040, which is currently being prepared, was one of the major items discussed.

Rome became the epicentre of the European Space sector this week, as the eternal city hosted the high-level event 'Space Policy for EU integration' organised by the European Commission.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) through its Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) and Radiant.Earth, have agreed to explore new Earth observation data innovations supporting humanitarian disaster management, global health, climate change, sustainable water management and cultural heritage.

On 02 June 2017, the JRC, represented by Director-General Vladimir Šucha, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), represented by its President, Professor Bai Chunli, signed a Research Framework Arrangement. The ceremony took place in the framework of the EU-China Summit 2017.

The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) will hold an information day for European industry on the procurement process for a key data access element of the EU's Copernicus environment monitoring programme, at its Darmstadt headquarters on 01 June.

On 15 May, 2017, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) held the Inter-Agency Meeting to strengthen and deepen the bilaterall cooperation, on the occasion of Prof. Dr. Johann-Dietrich Woerner's first visit to Japan as the Director General of ESA. JAXA and ESA announced the joint statement concerning the result of the meeting and the establishment of the joint working groups in the mutually specified areas, at the joint press conference after the meeting.

WASHINGTON — As Planet announced it has completed its acquisition of rival satellite imaging company Terra Bella on 18 April, it confirmed that Google is now a shareholder in Planet as part of that deal.

A regulatory system crafted a quarter-century ago is failing to keep up with an evolving commercial remote sensing industry, which companies say is slowing down their efforts to develop new satellite systems and capabilities.

Today, Alain Ratier, Director-General of EUMETSAT and Wu Yanhua, Vice Administrator of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) signed an agreement that provides the policy framework for the continuation and expansion of EUMETSAT's cooperation with China on monitoring the atmosphere, oceans and climate from space.

WASHINGTON — MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates announced Feb. 24 that it will acquire commercial remote sensing company DigitalGlobe for $2.4 billion, the biggest deal to date in the ongoing consolidation in the Earth imaging market.

With farming an exacting science, ESA and the world's leading chemical company, BASF, have joined forces to see how data from satellites can best serve the agricultural community.

On 15 December, Europe and the US achieved another milestone in the cooperation on meteorological satellite systems when Marc Cohen, EUMETSAT Associate Director for LEO Programmes and Harry A. Cikanek III, NOAA Director, Joint Polar Satellite System signed the plan that will implement the Joint Polar System (JPS).

The European Union's Sentinel satellites, developed and operated by ESA, will play a critical role in Australia's efforts to manage its vast land and marine environment.

Thursday 8 December at CNES's Head Office in Paris, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall and François Jacq, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Ifremer, the French institute of marine research, signed a framework agreement on space to advance knowledge of the marine environment.

ESA today concluded a two-day Council meeting at ministerial level in Lucerne, Switzerland. Ministers in charge for space matters from ESA's 22 member states plus Slovenia and Canada allocated €10.3 billion for space activities and programmes based on the vision of a United Space in Europe in the era of Space 4.0.

The Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have signed an important agreement to strengthen the bilateral cooperation on Disaster Risk Management through the joint data use of Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation radar satellites and the Japanese radar satellite ALOS-2.

Heads of space agencies are meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco at the COP22 climate change summit to reaffirm their commitment to a coordinated approach for monitoring Earth's climate, with particular focus on the water cycle.

The GEO-XIII Plenary meeting in St Petersburg, Russia, today, has adopted a new work programme incorporating GEONETCast as one of its foundational tasks, with the aim of bringing Earth observation data to more users around the world

ESA and the Asian Development Bank have signed an agreement to collaborate over the next five years to use information from space to support sustainable development.

In the second edition of 'Science meets Parliaments', European, national and regional policy-makers met scientists from across Europe on 8 November to discuss closer collaboration in the interest of better policy making based on scientific evidence. The conference in Brussels was organised by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in cooperation with the European Parliament's Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA).