What I learned during EU Space Week

It never ceases to amaze me that, no matter how long you’ve been active in the EU Space sector, there’s always more to learn. Talking with some of the over 3000 visitors and 150 presenters who were at EU Space Week, I once again learned a lot.

Meeting with companies and entrepreneurs from across Europe, I learned how they’re using EU Space technology to create innovative products and solutions that are already responding to some of today’s most pressing challenges. Specifically, I saw first-hand how Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus services succeeded to answer user needs and allow them to develop everyday applications as urban planning, autonomous agriculture, automotive positioning and atmospheric analysis.

I also heard from these entrepreneurs, start-ups, scale-ups and enterprises that they need more support, more engagement, and more funding in order to continue innovating.

From discussions with several Member State representatives, I learned that many smaller European economies find it difficult to invest in space research and space-based companies on their own. By providing support across Europe, EUSPA is a great example of the benefits that European integration and development bring. It is also a key factor in ensuring that Member States can fully leverage the benefits of EU Space when working to achieve such pan-European policy initiatives as the Green Deal.

Speaking of funding, pre-commercial procurement is increasingly being used to develop applications based on European space data and services tailored to public authorities. Innovative mechanisms like this are key to better engaging with public authorities, which will ultimately result in better market uptake.

While funding and investing in space-based innovation and growth is important, it’s equally important that such growth happens in an inclusive way. Did you know that the number of women employed in the international space industry represents just 20% of the total workforce – roughly the same proportion as 30 years ago? Clearly, there’s more work to be done here, as well as across the diversity spectrum. That’s why I am committed to ensuring that EUSPA not only supports diversity within space businesses, but that we also promote diversity and equality for all EUSPA staff.

At the end of the week, I took a foray into the metaverse which contains an array of opportunities for space data. Be it creating biomes for gaming, virtual environments in 3D that are based on the real world, flight simulators, digital twins of ancient cities or simply space travelling across the metaverse, all these require space and geospatial data – and all represent an exciting new frontier for EU Space and innovating European companies.

Whether it be robots for precision agriculture or drones for urban planning, developing new funding initiatives, further engaging with public authorities, attracting more diverse profiles to the sector or venturing into new realms like the metaverse – by the end of EU Space Week I realised that these are all pieces to the same puzzle. The challenge is connecting these pieces to form an inclusive ecosystem of space services and opportunities. If we can do that, we’ll be able to unleash an array of synergies that not only have a significant commercial potential, but also the potential to have a powerful impact on all aspects of society.???