EO LAB | Earth Observation Laboratory

The Earth Observation (EO) Laboratory has been established and fully operational since September 2019 and comprises a team of highly qualified and multidisciplinary staff in the fields of interest of the AIR Centre.

The EO Lab is a dedicated unit of the AIR Centre, located in the TERINOV Technological Park (Terceira island, Azores) and is established as ESA_LAB@Azores, a laboratory to set-up an institutional link between academia, high-tech enterprises, research institutions and European Space Agency to explore innovative applications of space technologies of observation in the Atlantic area. ESA_LAB@Azores activities also aims to:

  • Attract and educate young and talented people to get involved in an accelerated space for creation, innovation and joint ventures;
  • Contribute to the European autonomy in accessing and using space in a safe and secure environment, by diversifying, extending, consolidating, connecting and protecting its infrastructures across all the regions
  • Connect Azores region into a globally competitive European space sector.

The EO Lab contributes to maximizing the integration of a distributed space ecosystem, extending the use of space technologies and applications to support societal challenges, public demands and policies in the Atlantic space and contributing to a better knowledge of understudied areas. It is also a laboratory to test procedures and methods to connect peripheral regions into globally competitive technological sectors by supporting research, innovation and entrepreneurship. The aim is to set-up a collaborative framework to identify, consolidate, sustain, stimulate, promote and build capacity for existing, new and future EO based services of use for Atlantic Ocean countries.

Activities carried out in the Laboratory follow a mission driven approach in close coordination with AIR Centre network, Portugal Space, European Space Agency and Azores Fundação Regional para a Ciência e Tecnologia. Our lines of action are aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) and include the following thematic areas:

  • Sustainable Fisheries, Aquaculture, Algae
  • Reduce Impact of Floods
  • Sustainable food production
  • Sustainable Development of coastal ecosystems and processes

Several agreements have been signed with different entities such as the MBON (Marine Biodiversity Observation Network) and other international organizations, enabling AIR Centre to extend its network and intensify its collaboration with new stakeholders.