Serving daily life
Space-derived information provides a whole new dimension of knowledge and services which can benefit our lives on a day-to-day basis.
Accurate forecasting of the ever-changing weather is vital for effective agriculture, industry and transportation. Weather forecasts also save lives through severe weather warnings of events such as storms, snowfall or flooding. Satellites have radically improved the accuracy of weather forecasts and have become a crucial part of our daily life.
Supporting sustainable development
Economic and social development need to take place on a sustainable basis. Meeting this challenge requires accurate and timely information on the state of the environment. In 2002 the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, renewed the goals of Agenda 21 - a global action plan for sustainable development adopted by the United Nations - and emphasised the vital role space-based systems can play in carrying them out.