On the morning of June 11, the National Institute of Environmental Research under the Ministry of Environment (President Kum Han-seung) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the European Space Agency (ESA) for verification, research cooperation, and exchange of human resources for environmental satellite at the ESA Center for Earth Observation (located in Rome, Italy)  

This agreement was established for mutual exchange of data between Korea's geostationary environmental satellite (GEMS)*, the first of its kind in the world operated by the National Institute of Environmental Research, and the low Earth orbit environmental satellite TROPOMI** operated by the European Space Agency, as well as for ground data exchange and cooperation  for satellite data verification, human resource exchange, and other purposes.

* GEMS: Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (Launched February 2020)

** TROPOMI: TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (Launched October 2017)

The main contents of the MOU include 1) mutual exchange of information between Korea’s GEMS and the European Space Agency’s TROPOMI, 2) cooperation in calibration and verification of environmental satellites between the two countries, 3) international joint activities (campaigns) using ground observation instruments, 4) research cooperation and exchange of human resources through joint participation in international academic conferences.

The European Space Agency developed and operates the low Earth orbit environmental satellite TROPOMI, which was launched in 2017 for observing land, ocean, and atmospheric qualities globally. They plan observational research on the occurrence and movement of global atmospheric pollutants using the Sentinel-4 satellite, the world’s third geostationary environmental satellite scheduled for launch in 2026, along with the TROPOMI satellite, which is currently in operation.

※ The world’s second geostationary environmental satellite is TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution), launched by NASA in April 2023.

The National Institute of Environmental Research has been pursuing joint research with leading research institutions worldwide, such as NASA, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC), for international collaborative research in satellite utilization fields. In particular, this MOU was initiated following the participation of the National Institute of Environmental Research in the PEGASOS* activities (campaign) hosted by the European Space Agency in October 2022.

* PEGASOS: Product Evaluation of Gems L2 via Assessment with S5p and Other Sensors, verification research through mutual comparison between satellites and ground observations

Kum Han-seung, President of the National Institute of Environmental Research, stated, “Through the memorandum of understanding with the European Space Agency, the world’s leading satellite research institution, we will expand the scope of research based on environmental satellites and lay the foundation for joint research cooperation on Northern Hemisphere air quality. We will also make efforts to facilitate more active exchange of experts in atmospheric environment and satellite fields.” 

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

Contact person: Gina Lee, foreign media spokesperson

Phone: +82-44-201-6055

Email: gcjgina @gmail.com