European Space Agency: 50 Years Serving Sustainable Development
In brief
When space is mentioned, the collective imagination often turns to the great epics of space conquest: lunar missions, interplanetary exploration satellites, or even the geopolitical competition for technological supremacy. However, beyond the stars, space is a daily, tangible, and essential tool serving humanity – particularly to ensure a sustainable future, a vision deeply aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since 1975, the European Space Agency (ESA) has played a leading role in this mission, as shown in the ESA SDG’s catalogue featuring space applications and technologies developed to help achieve the 17 UN SDG’s.
In-depth
Observing the Earth, monitoring the oceans, anticipating natural disasters, improving healthcare, supporting agriculture, or even promoting education in remote areas: these are the concrete fields of action for space today. These uses have become indispensable thanks to satellites and applications derived from space technologies. ESA has established itself as a strategic player in this area, with an essential contribution to sustainable development in all its dimensions – environmental, social, and economic.
Satellite Solutions for Health: Monitoring, Diagnosis, and Remote Care
The technologies developed for space flights have enabled considerable advances in medicine. For example, the miniaturisation of biomedical sensors used aboard the ISS has inspired equipment for the early diagnosis of cancers or cardiac monitoring. ESA also collaborates to the development of a mobile bio-laboratory initiative (B-Life), deployed to eradicate the Ebola epidemic in Guinea (2014–2016) thanks to satellite communication systems enabling rapid and isolated diagnosis of cases.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, satellites made it possible to monitor air quality, analyse the effect of lockdown on atmospheric pollution (notably via Copernicus Sentinel-5P), and ensure the continuity of remote care through telemedicine in isolated regions. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the use of telemedicine services based on satellite infrastructure increased by 30% in rural European regions during the pandemic, highlighting the crucial role of space for the resilience of healthcare systems.
Climate and Environment: Space-Based Tools for Climate and Environmental Action
Earth observation satellites play a vital role in monitoring ecosystems. The Copernicus programme, co-managed by ESA and the European Commission, collects terabytes of environmental data every day, contributing to a thorough understanding of climate and environmental challenges in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal. This information makes it possible to track fires (with increased accuracy thanks to Sentinel-3 data), deforestation (with a 15% improved detection rate according to analyses by the European Environment Agency), coastal erosion, and even greenhouse gas emissions (with increasingly precise estimates thanks to Sentinel-5P).
In September 2022, Sentinel-1 satellites identified a massive methane leak in the Baltic Sea from the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, an emission of 80,000 tonnes of methane (equivalent to 500,000 cars in one go). This rapid detection highlighted the strategic utility of space observation for managing environmental crises. ESA also supports risk management through programmes enabling better anticipation of floods, landslides, or earthquakes, thereby reducing human and economic losses.
Agriculture and Green Transition: Support from Orbit to Earth
Remote sensing data collected by satellite is used to map soil moisture, vegetation indices, crop forecasting, or even the early detection of agricultural diseases, contributing to more sustainable and resilient agriculture and concretely helping small producers vulnerable to climate hazards.
Satellites also facilitate the installation of solar or wind farms thanks to detailed analysis of sunshine, prevailing winds, and topography. For example, in Spain, the use of Sentinel data enabled increase the energy efficiency of solar projects.
Furthermore, space applications play a vital catalytic role in the financial sector and more specifically in financing the ecological transition. Earth observation data enables precise and spatially explicit assessment of natural capital and climate risks, providing investors with the information needed to direct their capital towards sustainable projects and evaluate their real environmental impact. In addition, satellite data optimises site selection for renewable energies, making these investments more attractive, and enables transparent and verifiable monitoring of the impacts of green projects, thereby strengthening the credibility of sustainable financial instruments and combating greenwashing. By illuminating financial decisions with reliable and objective data, space becomes an indirect yet powerful pillar in financing a greener and more resilient economy.
Urban Planning: Designing the Cities of Tomorrow
Rapid urbanisation requires effective planning tools. Several programmes developed with ESA support use satellite imagery to model heat islands (allowing cities to target interventions and potentially reduce surface temperature by 2-3°C in treated areas, according to pilot studies), map at-risk areas (with an 18% improved identification of flood-prone areas thanks to satellite altimetry data), or plan sustainable infrastructure, contributing to the European objective of smart and sustainable cities.
Thanks to the EO4SD project, 7 cities in Tanzania (Tanga, Arusha, Mwanza, Kigoma, Dodoma, Mbeya and Mtwara) was able to identify flood-prone areas, adjust drainage plans, and reduce flood-related losses by 40% between 2015 and 2020.
Education and Access to Water: Space for Equity
In regions affected by water stress or educational exclusion, space offers innovative solutions, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and European values of inclusion. The TIGER programme, launched by ESA in collaboration with the African Union, aims to strengthen water management in Africa, thanks to satellite data enabling better mapping of water resources (with a 25% increase in the accuracy of groundwater resource maps in pilot areas).
This programme has enabled the development of over 50 local applications in 42 countries, improving water security and enabling indirect access to education, as water availability reduces school absenteeism, particularly among girls (source: ESA TIGER Initiative, 2022 report indicating a 15% reduction in female school absenteeism in areas benefiting from TIGER applications). In addition, satellite technologies make it possible to provide internet connectivity in remote areas, facilitating access to online education and reducing the digital divide in Europe and beyond.
In 2025, the European Space Agency celebrates half a century of contribution to a more sustainable world. From health to education, via food security, urban planning, or the fight against climate change, space applications are shaping our future. Far more than a field of exploration and beyond an object of conquest, space has become a pillar of resilience, innovation, and global solidarity in our collective pursuit of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.