March 04, 2026

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) have been collaborating extensively in the field of space-borne missions for scientific research and operational applications related to Earth sciences. Over the years, this partnership has strengthened through joint efforts in payload development, data sharing, algorithm refinement, calibration/validation (CAL/VAL), and application development. A notable example of this successful collaboration has been ISRO’s high-quality ocean surface wind vector data from Scatterometer payloads onboard Oceansat-2, SCATSAT-1, and Oceansat-3, which were widely used by the international scientific community and operational weather agencies. In recent years, cooperation has further expanded in the domain of extreme weather nowcasting using data from EUMETSATs Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites operational over the Indian Ocean region.

To strengthen and expand this collaboration, a joint meeting with EUMETSAT delegation (10 scientists/engineers in person and 7 online) was held at the Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmedabad, during February 10–12, 2026. Approximately 150 scientists and engineers from various ISRO centres actively participated. The meeting aimed to review the status of scientific cooperation and define future collaborative pathways in payload realization, data processing, retrieval algorithms, CAL/VAL activities, and applications. The deliberations included a plenary session followed by five parallel thematic sessions and a special breakout session.

Both ISRO and EUMETSAT agreed on a tiered approach encompassing short, medium, and long-term goals focused on scientific algorithm development, CAL/VAL strengthening, data harmonization, and enhanced utilization of satellite data for operational and research applications. The meeting reaffirmed the strategic importance of the ISRO–EUMETSAT partnership in advancing Earth observation science and delivering societal benefits through improved weather, ocean, and climate services.