This was clearly demonstrated during the first colloquium on scientific and fundamental aspects of the Galileo programme that took place at the ‘Cité de l'Espace’ in Toulouse from 1 until 4 October. The colloquium was organised by the Air and Space Academy, the Bureau des Longitudes, the Académie de Marine and ESA.
Indeed, the main objective of this world premiere was reached beyond expectations: enhancing the scientific use of Galileo and contributing to the science-based development of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).
Around 200 scientists, coming from 25 countries world wide – with 19 being European, gathered and showed their interest in using GNSS systems and in particular Galileo’s accuracy and integrity to improve their research in a wide scope that spans Earth sciences (for example: geodesy, meteorology, geophysics), quantum metrology (for example: atomic clocks, inter-satellite links, the Galileo timing system) and relativity (for example: spacetime symmetries, relativistic reference frames, astronomy and GNSS).
At the same time, the scientist’s expertise can be of great help in improving the Galileo system itself. This is a ‘win-win’ situation, since a more precise tool can give more accurate data and therefore improve the measurements needed by the scientists for their research.
The scientists need to have access to GNSS data and ESA will facilitate further access to EGNOS and GIOVE-A data, which are already available to some extent. Dedicated solutions will be found for the scientists, with restrictions only being sometimes applied to commercial or PRS service data. Access to registered, stored data – which are the types most wanted by the scientific community – will be easily granted.
