The Space Applications
Institute

 

Established at Ispra – Italy

The primary mission of SAI is to develop and promote the use of space-derived data in the service of EU policies, especially those relating to agriculture, fisheries, transport and anti-fraud. SAI also seeks to make the best use of information from space systems, to maximize the return from European investments in space and to help the Union reinforce its role in international action on the environment and sustainable development.

SAI is the Institute that works in the field of space applications and spatial information services. It uses remote-sensing techniques to observe the earth and man’s activities theron. SAI combines both space-based (e.g., satellite) and earth-based information with telecommunications and navigation technology, to produce the most accurate and detailed view of our planet earth yet achieved. As a result, it plays a role in supporting EU policy in areas such as agriculture, natural and man-made hazards and the detection of anti-personnel mines. It also provides a means of monitoring and assessing the impact of these policies.

The availability of such reliable, harmonised accurate data has encouraged new commercial applications and has opened up avenues of research into phenomena such as global change.

Situated in Ispra, Italy, the Space Applications Institute is part of the Directorate-General Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. It consists of a multidisciplinary team of more than 230 staff, principally from the 15 Member States of the European Union.

The activities of the Institute focus on:

• The detection and positioning of anti-personnel mines

• Monitoring the European landscape

• Agricultural applications and the development of regional information systems

• Monitoring global vegetation

• Monitoring the marine environment and coastal zones

• The development of strategies and systems related to space applications.

Further information about the Space Applications Institute is to be found on SAI’s web site.