The European Resilience from Space (ERS) initiative aims to bring together European systems in Earth observation (EO), positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and secure connectivity in a coordinated manner to enable interoperability within these systems and provide enhanced actionable information in near real-time to the users.
Rather than creating another standalone system, ERS will bring integrate these systems into a resilient architecture that can support Europe in preparing for, responding to and recovering from crises. Interoperability between these systems will also create new market opportunities for European industries and scale European resilience.
The three pillars of ERS are running ESA programmes in the domains of Earth observation, navigation and secure connectivity, namely ERS-EO, low Earth orbit positioning, navigation and timing (LEO-PNT) and IRIS².
ERS-EO
The ERS-EO programme aims to ensure that Europe has reliable, secure and timely access to the information needed to understand what is happening on the ground. By harnessing the power of Earth observation, ERS-EO aims to address the need for very high-resolution imaging and high revisit capabilities – made possible by large satellite constellations, while ensuring guaranteed, secure and rapid access to data. Its security posture will meet the needs of both civil and military users.
Celeste
ESA's initiative for low Earth orbit positioning, navigation and timing (LEO-PNT), called Celeste, is demonstrating how a complementary layer flying closer to Earth can enhance Europe’s current Galileo system in medium Earth orbit (MEO). This layer will boost the resilience and enhance the performance of PNT and open opportunities for new service capabilities directly from LEO.
ESA Programme Related to EU Secure Connectivity - IRIS²
Led by the EU, the IRIS² satellite multiorbital constellation will provide European autonomous, secure and reliable connectivity. It will help protect Europe’s connectivity independence and ensure that governments, emergency services and citizens can stay connected, even in remote areas or during crises.
ESA acts on behalf of the European Commission as the qualification and validation authority for the governmental infrastructure of IRIS², the next EU flagship space programme.
