The CEOS Constellations Concept has emerged as the “innovative planning process” called for by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Task Force charged with drafting the CEOS Implementation Plan for Space-Based Observations for GEOSS. It is intended to address the shortcomings in the international planning process for space-based Earth observations without eroding the independence of individual agencies. The concept is envisioned as a process that will engage disparate Earth observing programs of CEOS member agencies and ultimately facilitate their contribution in supplying the space-based observations required to satisfy the requirements expressed by the 10-year Implementation Plan for GEOSS. The fundamental idea of the CEOS Constellations Concept is to extract clear requirements from target user communities and translate those requirements into standards which can serve as guidance in the development of future systems and against which future proposed Earth observing systems can be assessed.
The fundamental mission of the CEOS Land Surface Imaging (LSI) Constellation is to promote the efficient, effective, and comprehensive collection, distribution, and application of space-acquired image data of the global land surface, especially to meet societal needs of the global population, such as those addressed by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) societal benefit areas (SBAs). Significantly, this mission addresses not only the building and launching of satellite systems, but also the development and operation of associated ground segments and their ability to get critical data efficiently into the hands of many interdisciplinary science users and practical applicationists. To accomplish this mission, a LSI Constellation Study Team, charged with carrying out necessary studies and activities, has been established.
A primary objective of the LSI Constellation is to define standards (or guidelines) that describe optimal future LSI Constellation capabilities, characteristics, and practices. Standards defined for a LSI Constellation will be based on a thorough understanding of user requirements, and they will address at least three fundamental areas of the systems comprising a Land Surface Imaging Constellation: the space segments, the ground segments, and relevant policies and plans. Studies conducted by the LSI Constellation Study Team also address current and shorter-term problems and issues facing the land remote sensing community today, such as seeking ways to work more cooperatively in the operation of existing land surface imaging systems and helping to accomplish tangible benefits to society through application of land surface image data acquired by existing systems.
In 2007, the first full year of the LSI Constellation, activities focused on mid-resolution, optical LSI satellite systems, which are systems that image in the VNIR, SWIR, and TIR parts of the spectrum with spatial resolutions between 10 meters and 100 meters. Preliminary standards for future systems were developed for such systems, and a Declaration of Intent was signed by seven CEOS space agencies that currently operate mid-resolution, optical satellite systems stating their intentions to cooperate more fully in the operation of those systems. The LSI Constellation Portal for Mid-Resolution Optical LSI Satellite System Information and Enhanced Data Access is one result of cooperative efforts initiated under that Declaration of Intent. Other activities undertaken by the LSI Constellation Study Team are described in the LSI Constellation 2007 and 2008 Work Plans and in the 2007 LSI Constellation Report that are accessible from the CEOS LSI page. Other documents that provide additional insight into the LSI Constellation and its activities also are accessible from the CEOS LSI page.