Charter ‘chat’
As the International Charter Space and Major Disasters honours its 10th Anniversary, members gathered at ESRIN, ESA’s Earth observation centre, in Frascati, Italy, for a two-day board meeting. We caught up with some of them for a Charter 'chat'.
ESA’s Stephen Briggs, the French space agency’s (CNES) André Husson and the Argentine Space Agency’s (CONAE) Gabriel Platzeck discussed the Charter’s achievements and future plans.
The Charter is an international collaboration, initiated by ESA and CNES, to put satellite remote sensing at the service of civil protection agencies and others in response to natural and man-made disasters.
Together with ESA and CNES, the Charter, founded in 2000, currently has 10 members: the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), CONAE, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the British National Space Centre/Disaster Monitoring Constellation (BNSC/DMC), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
All of these agencies have committed to provide free and unrestricted access to their space assets to support relief efforts in the immediate aftermath of catastrophes.
