Earth's Space Future

Convening experts for a workshop with a creative facilitation team, the focus is on the challenges and opportunities in the development of sustainable Earth observing satellite systems. Through all-hands interactive exercises, the ESF workshop will explore the political, economic, sociocultural, and technological inhibitors and enablers that will realize new cross-sector business models and value chain to support both new and sustained EO in light of challenging congressional budgets.

Learn more about the motivation for ESF!

ESF is specifically concerned with addressing pre-competitive EO challenges for the US civil Earth Observation Enterprise (EOE). The pre-competitive space addresses shared challenges across sectors and between industry competitors; addressing challenges in this space is equivalent to "a tide that rises all ships".

The Earth Observations Enterprise (EOE) represents public, private, academic and philanthropic sector endeavors to produce information, provide services, generate solutions, and expand social and economic benefits to every American, every day, generated from EO. (Adapted from 2024 National Plan for Civil Earth Observations)

ESF's purpose is to bring together diverse stakeholders in the pre-competitive space to address shared challenges for creating a sustainable EOE. ESF includes both traditional and non-traditional participants from procurement, aerospace finance, business development, and policy sectors.

ESF received funding from a NASA grant to support the work effort to convene a workshop in Fall 2026 in the DC metro area. This workshop will gather thinkers, practitioners and doers in the planning, funding and building of US civil EO satellites in the public, private and philanthropic sectors. A final report will be published and presented to stakeholders across the EOE.

We are seeking to engage 80-100 diversely skilled experts from across the EOE who know what it takes to make a civil space mission a success–from contract experts and technologists to legal practitioners and business development leads.

ESF seeks to:

1. identify political, economic, sociocultural, and technological factors that enable or inhibit cross-sector collaboration;
2. examine business models and frameworks for funding and implementing sustained and new EO; and
3. provide a synthesis report documenting challenges, opportunities, and recommendations for a sustainable EOE.

• 0.5 day virtual pre-workshop meeting
• 2 days in-person Workshop
• October/November 2026
• Washington DC Area

Policy - Policy Consultants, Policy Analysts

Economics - Business Models, Funding Sources

Sociocultural - Workforce, Science, Applications

Technology - R&D, Providers, Operations

Participants will evaluate recommendations from existing reports, assess implementation strategies, and identify challenges in developing cost-effective EO missions.

* SME Definition: individuals with deep, specialized knowledge, skills, or experience. SMEs act as go-to authorities within their organization for providing authoritative insights, validating accuracy, and solving complex problems in areas like technology, law, or engineering.

Please nominate subject matter experts to be personally invited to the Earth's Space Future workshop application process. While the application is open to all, nominations ensure that these subject matter experts directly receive an invitation to apply and will be considered during the application down-selection process. 

Please nominate someone to attend this conference by filling in the ESF Nomination Form. 

• Recognized leadership in the US civil EOE
• Shape the workshop outcomes
• Network with leading companies and organizations in the EOE
• Highlight the existing public domain work of your company in the EOE community
• Option for co-authorship on a synthesis report with strategic evaluation for a sustainable US civil EOE

There are several levels of engagement:

Stakeholder - someone who might not shape the final report as a participant, but someone who would greatly benefit from the final report because of role/ responsibility/ interest alignment. Opt-in to our mailing list for updates.

Participants - someone who participates in the virtual and in-person workshops

Sponsors - visionaries who shape the value of the workshop and attend a pre in-person workshop reception.

This workshop is funded in part by the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Earth Science Division (ESD) in response to Topical Workshops, Symposiums, and Conferences (TWSC-24) in Space and Earth Sciences and Technology (Grant ID: NNH24ZDA002N).

Reception costs (venue and food) are paid for through sponsorships that will be listed on this website as they are confirmed.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please reach out to us.