The Earth Observation Handbook 2005 Edition


The CEOS Earth Observation Handbook presents the main capabilities of satellite Earth observations, their applications and a systematic overview of present and planned CEOS agency Earth observation satellite missions and their instruments.

The 2005 edition of the EO Handbook explores society's increasing need for information on our planet, and explains the role that EO plays in addressing these needs.

2005 marks a milestone in global Earth observation cooperation with the establishment of an international mechanism to manage the implementation of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) – which represents a political commitment to move toward development of “a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained Earth observation system”.

Such ambitions are inconceivable without the measurement capabilities offered by the Earth observation satellite programmes being planned by the world’s space agencies.