From Up There to Down Here Big Space Data Driving Sustainable Development and Economic Growth on Earth

Thursday 28 September 2017, 08:30 – 09:30
Location: Adelaide Convention Center – Hall C

Plenary 8 will explore how the dramatically expanding, diverse “big space data” sets from satellite based Earth observations can be leveraged to support global sustainable development and economic growth on Earth and, ultimately, beyond it.

Having the best choices for our common future depend on putting space observations to work down here on Earth through efforts to raise living standards, and give more people the opportunity to realize their potential. This economic growth must be socially and environmentally sustainable, if it is to translate into permanent, rather than transient, benefits.

Ultimately, the same sorts of challenges we face in ensuring sustainable development here on Earth will be ones we need to face as we start to scale-up exploration and development, of other planets. They may help us create the necessary conditions for realizing the ideas we have now while creating space for ideas that have not even been thought of yet.