EU MESEO project speeds Earth observation delivery with on-board and ground processing

The EU-funded MESEO project, coordinated by GMV Aerospace and Defence in Spain, has built a framework to cut delays in delivering Earth observation data. Satellites gain enhanced on-board processing, including AI-based image analysis, so that only the most relevant data is downlinked.

An EO Coordination Centre sits at the core. This digital platform orchestrates processing across satellites, ground infrastructure and external data providers, and passes targeted results to users through a standardised interface. Common interfaces and security mechanisms support interoperability between EO systems.

The chain was validated on two use cases: methane emissions detection, comparing new images with archived ones, and large-area crop classification from archived multitemporal imagery. The Horizon Europe project started in December 2023 and ends on 30 November 2026, with an EU contribution of about €2.3 million. Next steps are component development, validation and engagement with industry and institutions.

Why it matters: Processing data nearer the sensor and coordinating requests could shorten the time to usable EO products for methane monitoring and crop mapping. The standardised interfaces may also help operators combine missions while keeping control of their data.