Community Spotlight
Dear CEOS Colleagues,
The global Earth Observation (EO) ecosystem is seeing an expanding role for commercial data and increased public-private cooperation. At the NASA Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) Workshop in March, I shared progress from CEOS on Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) and CEOS Analysis Ready Data (CEOS-ARD), exploring synergies for public-private collaboration and the standards required for data interoperability.
This engagement builds on a series of targeted interactions over the past year, including the WGCV commercial engagement session in India (July 2025) and LSI-VC outreach across Japan, Australia, and Europe - each bringing together regional companies to exchange perspectives and explore collaboration opportunities.
Looking ahead, in April, CEOS will continue this momentum at the Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation (JACIE) Workshop 2026, in Reston, USA, where it will contribute through an exhibition booth, presentations, and posters. This will be followed by the joint WGCV-56/LSI-VC-19 meeting in Sioux Falls, USA, which will include a dedicated session on commercial engagement.
Through these coordinated efforts, CEOS is strengthening partnerships with the commercial sector, promoting CEOS-ARD adoption, and supporting improved interoperability, data quality, and trust in commercial Earth observation products worldwide.
Kind regards,
Medhavy Thankappan
Geoscience Australia, WGCV Vice Chair
CEOS Newsletter Highlights
39th CEOS Plenary
29th January 2026
Hear about the discussions and outcomes from the 2025 CEOS Plenary, hosted by UKSA in Bath, UK, 4-6 November 2025.
Positioning for success in a rapidly changing context: Australia becomes the 2026 CEOS Chair
4th February 2026
Learn about the 2026 CEOS Chair theme and the activities planned throughout the year.
Release of Interoperability Handbook 2.0
21st February 2026
Read about the new CEOS Interoperability Handbook, aimed at enhancing interoperability of data and services between different EO stakeholders.
CEOS Blog Highlights
Future of CEOS-ARD
8th January 2026
Learn about the consultation efforts undertaken by the CEOS-ARD Oversight Group in 2025 to inform the Future of CEOS-ARD Consultation Paper and Concept Note presented to CEOS Principals at the 39th CEOS Plenary.
Advancing Interoperability of Space-based EO Data and Services: The CEOS Interoperability Handbook
16th February 2026
Understand the importance of interoperability, and the five factors that make up the Interoperability Framework.
Ensuring Quality and Fit-for-purpose Data with the CEOS-FRM Assessment Framework
13th March 2026
Read about the Fiducial Reference Measurement Assessment Framework designed by the Working Group on Calibration & Validation (WGCV).
Vocabulary Interoperability: Speaking the Same Language
22nd March 2026
Learn about the importance of having interoperable vocabulary, and how CEOS is implementing the recommendations with the EO Glossary.
CEOS MIM Database Q1 2026 Report
CEOS-ARD Newsletter
Recent Meetings
Upcoming CEOS Meetings
SIT-41: April 14th - 16th, 2026 | Irvine, California, USA
WGCV-56 & LSI-VC-19 Joint Meeting: April 20th - 24th, 2026 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
2026 SIT Technical Workshop: September 8th - 10th, 2026 | Washington, D.C., USA
40th CEOS Plenary: November 3rd - 6th, 2026 | Hobart, Australia
All upcoming CEOS meetings and related external events can be viewed on the CEOS website meetings page.
CEOS Training Calendar
UNOOSA/UNU-INWEH/CEOS Training on EO for Resilience and Humanitarian Aid: 23 March 2026 - 27 March 2026. Vienna, Austria
Short Term Refresher Course on Database Management & GIS: 23 March 2026. Virtual
EUMETSAT Joint Working Environment Expert Feature Label Training Workshop: 25 March 2026. Darmstadt, Germany
EUMeTrain Monthly Weather Briefing: 27 March 2026. Virtual
African Quarterly Weather Briefing: Using Satellite Products to Support Impact-based Forecasting: 30 March 2026. Virtual
Short Course: Introduction to Fire Products Pt 2 - Intermediate Users: 31 March 2026. Virtual
Advanced Training Course in Meteorological Instrumentation & Information Communication System: 01 April 2026. Virtual
Short Term Refresher Course on "Networking & Cyber Security": 06 April 2026. Virtual
High Impact Weather webinar #1: 07 April 2026. Virtual
International Training Course on "MAZU" for Early Warning and Disaster Risk Reduction: 08 April 2026. Beijing, China
RA-I Interprétation de l'imagerie satellitaire MTG: 13 April 2026. Virtual
SEEMET Regional Training Course: 13 April 2026. Trogir, Croatia
Baltic+ Forecaster Training Course Vilnius: 14 April 2026. Vilnius, Lithuania
5th CLUVEX VIRTUAL EXCHANGE TRAINING WEEK on Climate Change: 20 April 2026. Virtual
FMI-EUMETSAT Aviation Forecaster Testbed 2026 - 1: 20 April 2026. Helsinki, Finland
Using MTG data for Improved Weather forecasts in Africa: 20 April 2026. Nairobi, Kenya
Seminar on heavy precipitation events in the D-A-CH region: Forecasting and nowcasting: 27 April 2026. Wien, Austria
ESSL-EUMETSAT Testbed on Severe Convective Storms: 04 May 2026. Wiener Neustadt, Austria
NOMEK Nordic Forecaster Training Course: 04 May 2026. Reykjavik, Iceland
High Impact Weather webinar #2: 04 May 2026. Virtual
UK Met Office / WMO Aviation Meteorology Training Seminar 2026: 11 May 2026. Alanya, Turkey
ESSL-EUMETSAT Testbed on Severe Convective Storms: 18 May 2026. Wiener Neustadt, Austria
57th International Liège Colloquium on Ocean Dynamics: 25 May 2026. Liege, Belgium
International Summer School on Applications with the Newest Multi-spectral Environmental Satellites: 09 June 2026. Bracciano, Italy
30th PG COURSE IN RS & GIS: 01 July 2026 - 31 March 2027. Virtual
IOCCG Summer Lecture Series: 05 July 2026. Venice, Italy
EUMETCAL Hackathon on Winter Weather: 07 September 2026. Norrköping, Sweden
ESSL-EUMETSAT Testbed on Severe Convective Storms: 14 September 2026. Wiener Neustadt, Austria
ESSL-EUMETSAT Testbed on Severe Convective Storms: 05 October 2026. Wiener Neustadt, Austria
FMI-EUMETSAT Aviation Forecaster Testbed 2026 - 2: 02 November 2026. Darmstadt, Germany
The CEOS Communications Team welcomes any content suggestions from the community! Contact Dave Borges ([email protected]) & Libby Rose ([email protected]).