Science Strategy Workshop 2023

SPLINTER SEED QUESTIONS

EO Candidate Science Questions Review – Seed Questions

1. How complete are the Candidate Science Questions (CSQs) in terms of description and supporting justification ?

Within the scope of the current CSQs being discussed, is there anything important missing?
Are there additional knowledge advancement objectives within a CSQ that need to be added or other existing elements to be refined ?
Are there any important CSQs you think are missing and can be documented and justified at the same level of detail as the current CSQs?

2. What is the expected Science Impact of the current CSQs

Which are the CSQs that you consider will have the biggest impact on Earth system science and how is this impact expressed (e.g. improved understanding, reduced uncertainty, societal needs) ?

3. What are the timescales associated with CSQs and knowledge advancement objectives ?

a. Which CSQs can be advanced significantly in medium term 5-6 year timescale (typically supported by data from existing or soon-to-be available EO missions) ?

b. Which CSQs will take much longer and might require new observations not available in the near future?

c. How can progress be measured for both medium and longer-term time scales ?

4. Overall prioritization
a. Which CSQs can be advanced significantly in medium term 5-6 year timescale (typically supported by data from existing or soon-to-be available EO missions) ?
b. Which CSQs will take much longer and might require new observations not available in the near future?

Use of Commercial Space for EO Science

1. How can commercial space missions and data be best leveraged for EO Science challenges?

What observation gaps can they fill in short-term & long-term? (e.g. bi-static SAR, HR Infrared, atmospheric composition, radio occultation)
Where can New Space & Commercial missions make the biggest impact in EO Science?
Do you see potential in spin-off from explorer missions to New Space capabilities?

2. How can New Space missions best create synergy with public EO missions?

How to design and ensure complementarity?
What is needed to best combine these different data types (technically/economically)
How to ensure their data quality?
How can their data be most (cost) efficiently made available/accessible?

3. How can EO Science be most relevant in multi-disciplinary research programs (e.g. economy, health)

How can EO Science be best leveraged in the field of (scientific) economics? (e.g. Carbon pricing, food markets, values chains, green financing)
What are the socio-economic indicators that EO science can help evaluating?
Which would be the most promising economical challenges to be addressed with EO information?

4. How can the role of EO science in business development and commercial sector increased?

What experience exist in EO science transfer into business innovation?
How can university spin off & spin in be fostered?
What is needed to stimulate “intrapreneurship” activities between science & commercialization?

Open Science and Digital Innovation

What should be made open and what should remain closed? Where should we draw the line to maximize the value of developments for companies and society?
What/How ESA could recommend promoting open access to scientific results?
How could ESA promote digital innovation for the benefit of Earth observation?
What kind of digital innovations have high potential for advancing EO?
Should ESA promote openness in digital technologies such as AI? If so, how?
How can we ensure long term engagement of scientific research into operational services? What setup would allow our science community to be part of the support and evolution of operational services?
How can we improve ESA's science communication activities to effectively communicate efforts such as the push for open science, even to member states?
How could/should ESA incentivize openness? (e.g., initiate a software paper like JOSS, partner with a software publication, host a secure GitLab, require it from top-down, etc.)