COMMITTEE ON EARTH OBSERVATION
TERMS OF REFERENCE
PREAMBLE
Remote sensing from space has evolved from an early period of
limited satellite programs to a point where distinctions among
existing missions result from the technology employed, rather
than from the disciplines served in system operations. In the
future, a number of international and national spaceborne Earth
observation systems will operate simultaneously and support both
interdisciplinary and international activities.
The organization of international cooperation in spaceborne Earth
observation systems also is evolving, from mission-specific reviews
to the interdisciplinary coordination of multimission programs.
Beginning with the first Multilateral Meeting on Remote Sensing
held in Ottawa on May 8–9, 1980, which was attended by agency
representatives from Canada, the European Space Agency (ESA),
France, India, Japan, and the U.S., current and potential operators
of Earth observation systems have met several times to discuss
the means by which mutually beneficial cooperation and coordination
could be achieved in both the near and longer term. As a result
of these gatherings, the recent past has seen the creation of
the Coordination on Land observation Satellites (CLOS) by agency
representatives from France, Japan, and the U.S. in Paris on November
13–14, 1980; the initiation of CORSS in Paris on May 10–11,
1982, through the efforts of agency representatives from ESA and
Japan; and the second Multilateral Meeting on Remote Sensing held
in Paris on May 12–13, 1982, attended by agency representatives
from France, Canada, ESA, India, Japan, and the U.S.
This framework of initial discussion and cooperation has enhanced
the utility of spaceborne Earth observation data to users worldwide,
has encouraged the coordination of program plans among spaceborne
Earth observation system operators, and had fostered international
receptivity to and acceptance of spaceborne Earth observation
system activities and applications.
Consequently, the assembled representatives of international
and national spaceborne Earth observation systems affirmed the
following:
AWARE of the overlap of spaceborne Earth observation mission
objectives and of the interdisciplinary applications of remotely
sensed data;
RECOGNIZING the advantages of ongoing communication and cooperation
among spaceborne Earth observation system operators; and
DESIRING to promote the international growth and potential benefits
of spaceborne observation of the Earth, CEOS Members have affirmed
the value of the activities described above and have agreed to
coordinate informally their current and planned systems for Earth
observation from space through the organization of a Committee
on Earth observation Satellites (CEOS).
Cooperation in the development and management of remote sensing
and associated data management programs can be of benefit to operators
of spaceborne Earth observation systems and to users of Earth
observation data. Redundancy among systems and the utility of
data can be optimized through the appropriate coordination of
complementary and compatible space and ground segments, data management
practices and products, and Earth observation systems research
and development.
CEOS will not supersede current or potential agreements by Members.
Participation in the activities of CEOS will not be construed
as being binding upon spaceborne Earth observation system operators,
or as restricting their right to develop and manage Earth observation
systems according to their needs.
CHANGE OF STATUS
It is the responsibility of each Member and Associate to inform
the CEOS Chairperson of a change in its status with regard to
CEOS participant eligibility as outlined in the Terms of Reference.
In the event that an organization’s status changes, CEOS
Members will review the change and change in status will be by
consensus of the CEOS Members.
COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES
CEOS Members will exchange technical information on and pursue
the potential for coordination of space and ground segments. Such
coordination could include discussions on current and future mission
parameters, sensor capabilities and intercalibration, and data
and telemetry downlink characteristics. In addition, Earth observation
systems coordination within CEOS could address issues of ground
station technical compatibility for backup satellite tracking,
command and control, and sensor and telemetry data reception.
CEOS Members will investigate the means for increasing data utility
and cost-effectiveness, for both operators and users. CEOS activity
could include the coordination of data acquisition, sampling,
and preprocessing methodologies; the standardization of data formats
where appropriate; the increase in compatibility of data archives;
and the enhancement of user access to CEOS Member data bases,
information products, and services. CEOS Members will seek to
ensure that the user community is made aware of the satellite
programs of Members and will encourage discussions between the
users and relevant satellite system operators, as necessary.
CEOS Members will present their plans for emerging satellite
remote-sensing technologies and programs, and they will discuss
appropriate approaches for the coordination of future systems.
CEOS Members will address current developments and future direction/opportunities
in Earth observation from space, including free-flying spacecraft,
mission-specific instruments flown on space transportation systems,
and the placement of instruments on space platforms.
ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES
CEOS will convene at least once every year in Plenary session. CEOS meetings will be organized and chaired by the designated host organization. Two CEOS agencies may be designated to share the duties and responsibilities of taking the CEOS Chair. Each Member and Associate will designate a Principal and a point-of-contact for coordination between meetings. Each agency should inform the CEOS Chairperson of Principal and point-of-contact changes.
CEOS may establish, as mutually agreed and on an ad hoc basis, special
temporary Working Groups to investigate specific areas of interest, cooperation
and coordination and to report at subsequent Plenary meetings. Continuation
of each ad hoc Working Group requires confirmation at each Plenary session.
Conclusions resulting from CEOS Plenary sessions, or the findings and recommendations
of ad hoc Working Groups, will be acted upon at the discretion of each
CEOS Agency Member.
CEOS also may establish, as mutually agreed upon, standing working groups
where an ad hoc status is deemed insufficient. More permanent status may
be required to ensure long-term continuity of work in certain areas where
the magnitude and complexity of the task is not suitable to short-term
solutions. These standing working groups shall continue without requiring
specific confirmation by the Plenary. The Chairpersons of such groups shall
report at each CEOS Plenary session on accomplishments and future plans.
If the consensus of the Plenary is that such a group is no longer required,
the Plenary may discontinue the group. In the absence of such a decision,
however, the standing Working Group shall continue. Representatives from
all CEOS Agencies are invited to participate in all Working Groups and
to nominate a point of contact, failing which the Working Groups will keep
the formal CEOS point-of-contact informed.
A standing Secretariat will be maintained by ESA/EUMETSAT, NASA/NOAA and MEXT/JAXA and chaired by the incoming host organization in support of the CEOS Plenary. Each year's incoming Plenary host agency will lead the activities of the Secretariat for that year. In addition, to ensure the expeditious conduct of business, the past and the forthcoming CEOS chair will be included in the CEOS Secretariat. The Secretariat will prepare and distribute the minutes for the Plenary meetings, serve as a point-of-contact for external organizations interacting with CEOS, maintain and update the CEOS Dossier on space and ground segment activities, produce other periodic publications, ensure communications among members between meetings, report at each Plenary session on its activities and the status of action items from previous Plenary meetings, and perform other tasks as assigned by the CEOS Plenary. The chairpersons of the CEOS working groups will be invited to all meetings of the CEOS Secretariat, where they should report on the status of plenary action items under their responsibility, and they will be copied on all relevant correspondence. The Plenary guides the work of the Secretariat, with CEOS Member points-of-contact serving as a steering committee in between Plenary sessions.
At each Plenary meeting of CEOS, the time, place, and host for at least
the next two meetings will be established. The incoming CEOS host will
assume chairperson responsibilities at the conclusion of the Plenary meeting.
Allocation of Plenary actions will be coordinated between the incoming
and outgoing chairpersons.
A list of Members and Associates and the dates they were accepted
will be updated as appropriate, included as Appendix A to the
Terms of Reference, and distributed with the minutes after each
meeting.
CEOS will replace the Multilateral Meeting on Remote Sensing,
CLOS, and CORSS. During the development of and action on CEOS
activities, the Members of CEOS will follow the example of the
successful international technical and programmatic cooperation
achieved by the Coordination on Geostationary Meteorological Satellites.
CEOS Members also will consider the issues, concepts, and conclusions
arrived at in previous gatherings of the Multilateral Meeting
on Remote Sensing, CLOS and CORSS, and will address current and
future activities of spaceborne Earth-observing systems.
CEOS will consider and may make recommendations and agree on actions to
promote appropriate coordination across satellite coordination groups,
and national and international satellite programs. Furthermore, CEOS encourages
its Members to maintain communication as appropriate with other groups
and organizations involved in spaceborne Earth observation activities and
applications, particularly with GEO, through the relevant channels within
their respective governments.
ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT
These Terms of Reference were adopted at the September 24--25, 1984, meeting of CEOS and were amended by consensus at the second meeting of CEOS, held at the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) in Frascati, Italy, November 10--12, 1986. Additional amendments were made at the third meeting of CEOS in Ottawa, Canada, April 4--5, 1989; the fourth meeting in S?o Jos? dos Campos, Brazil, November 13--14, 1990; the sixth meeting in London, United Kingdom, December 9--11, 1992; the seventh meeting in Tsukuba, Japan, November 16--18, 1993; on October 10, 1996, before the tenth meeting in Canberra, Australia; at the twelfth meeting in Bangalore, India, November 10--12, 1998; and at the fourteenth meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 8--10, 2000; and at the nineteenth meeting in London, November 15-16, 2005. They may be further amended by consensus of the Members.
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Adopted 9/25/1984
Washington, DC, USA
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Amended 11/18/1993
Tsukuba, Japan
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Amended 11/11/1986
Frascati, Italy
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Amended 10/10/1996
Canberra, Australia
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Amended 4/5/1989
Ottawa. Canada
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Amended 11/12/1998
Bangalore, India
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Amended 11/14/1990
São José dos Campos, Brazil
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Amended 11/09/2000
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Reconfirmed 12/10/1991
Washington, DC, USA
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Amended 15/11/2005
London, United Kingdom
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Amended 12/11/1992
London, United Kingdom
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Curator: CEOS
Secretariat
(Last update: October 1, 2001)
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