{
  "id": 15736144,
  "title": "'We used to go to the climate conferences together. We are not anymore': ESA official Simonetta Cheli tells us how the political landscape for Earth observation is changing",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/we-used-to-go-to-the-climate-conferences-together-we-are-not-anymore",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-20T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Science",
    "slug": "live-science",
    "url": "https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/we-used-to-go-to-the-climate-conferences-together-we-are-not-anymore-esa-official-simonetta-cheli-tells-us-how-the-political-landscape-for-earth-observation-is-changing"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Observing Earth from space is crucial for understanding the state of our planet's health, especially in the face of climate change. It provides objective information on various variables such as deforestation, air quality, ocean health, and ice mass melting. With over 40 years of experience, Simonetta Cheli, the director of Earth observation programs at the European Space Agency (ESA) and head of the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) in Frascati, Italy, oversees more than 20 missions monitoring our planet. The agency has evolved significantly since Cheli's arrival in 2022, managing and planning over 40 missions in the last three weeks alone. Cooperation with other countries is essential, as climate and environmental stability cannot be achieved through national efforts alone. Cheli highlights the importance of sharing data and working with international partners to address global issues like climate change. Despite NASA's recent budget cuts, including its Earth observation budget, Cheli believes ESA has an opportunity to fill the gap, particularly in areas where they have already led, such as emissions data. The IRIDE constellation, a network of Italian-funded Earth-observing spacecraft, is particularly noteworthy. Launched on Oct. 1, this constellation will collect data from the optical radar spectrum, supporting various user needs like civil protection and coastal monitoring.",
  "summary": "Live Science sat down with the European Space Agency's Simonetta Cheli to discuss the importance of Earth observation, how NASA budget cuts have changed the picture, and how the proliferation of private satellites could hinder our ability to view the planet.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}