ESA and Australia's national geological survey, Geoscience Australia, today agreed to cooperate to ensure data from the EU's Sentinel satellites are accessible in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

The agreement supports the Australian government and European Commission's partnership to ensure the EU's Copernicus Earth observation programme benefits their citizens and the broader international community.

A key component of the cooperation will be the establishment of a regional data access and analysis hub managed by Geoscience Australia (GA). This hub will greatly improve access to Copernicus data in a region which is densely populated and experiencing high rates of economic growth, but which faces significant challenges in areas where Earth observation can help. These challenges include the protection of environmental assets, promotion of sustainable natural resource development and risk reduction from natural disasters.

ESA will supply GA with high-speed access to data from the Sentinel satellites through its Copernicus data access infrastructure. Through a consortium with Australia's CSIRO national research organisation and Australian state governments, GA will make the data hub available to users in the Southeast Asia and the South Pacific region.