ESA EO Open Science Newsletter

News from EO Open Science

October 2025

Highlights: The ESA-NASA Foundation Models report is now published; new platforms join EarthCODE; new open dataset available on EarthCODE; JuptyterGIS breaks through the next level; the APEx Algorithm Service Catalogue; EarthCODE Hands-On Workshop at FOSS4G and ESA Science Hub September 2025 edition and 2026 edition open call.

The ESA EO Open Science team

Highlights

ESA-NASA FOUNDATION MODELS REPORT

The report from the

First International Workshop on Foundation Models for Earth Observation (FM4EO), co-organized by ESA and NASA in May 2025, is now published. The workshop brought together experts in AI, EO, and Earth sciences to explore how Foundation Models can transform Earth system understanding. The report summarizes key discussions and outcomes offering a rich resource for the EO and AI research community.

FM4EO REPORT

NEW PLATFORMS JOIN EarthCODE

ESA is expanding the EarthCODE federation with new platforms and community initiatives, strengthening Europe’s FAIR and Open Earth Science ecosystem. Through its 2025 Best Practice cycle, new partners like Insula, GEP, and Lampata join the effort to support open data sharing and collaborative research. The initiative also advances training and engagement activities, empowering the community to develop and apply FAIR workflows.

SCIENCE HUB CHALLENGE: PAST EDITION AND NEXT CALL

The second edition of 2025 took place from 8-11 September and was organized in collaboration with the University of Venice and the SENSE (Satellite Data in Environmental Science) Centre for Doctoral Training. ESA invites new universities to join the upcoming Science Hub Challenges 2026.The call for participation is open until 24 October 2025.

SCIENCE HUB

New open dataset available on EarthCODE

A new dataset for field-scale crop yield prediction is now openly available on EarthCODE from the Agriculture Science Cluster. The dataset was produced in the frame of the project YIPEEO implemented by the Technical University of Vienna, EODC and the Global Change Research Institute. Follow this conversation on EarthCODE Discourse.

Discourse

JupyterGIS breaks through to the next level

Launched in June 2024, JupyterGIS was introduced as a collaborative, web-based GIS environment built on the JupyterLab framework. Its objective is to bring QGIS-inspired workflows into the browser, enabling real-time collaborative editing, seamless integration with notebooks, and support for core geospatial data formats. Find more about its capabilities.

JupyterGIS

GET INVOLVED

APEx ALGORITHM SERVICES CATALOGUE

The APEc Algorithm Services Catalogue offers ready-to-use, cloud-based EO algorithms that can be integrated into your workflows via openEO or OGC API standards. With built-in metadata, documentation, and benchmarking, it help users run analyses more easily while giving providers greater visibility and long-term impacts.

EarthCODE HANDS-ON WORKSHOP AT FOSS4G

The EarthCODE federation provided a hands-on workshop at the FOSS4G Europe 2025 in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The event was designed to introduce participants to EarthCODE's capabilities, guiding them from searching, finding and accessing EO datasets and workflows to publishing reproducible experiments that can be shared with the wider scientific community. All materials are available on GitHub.

MATERIAL

WELCOME TO THE EarthCODE COMMUNITY!

The EarthCODE Discourse forum hosts discussions about open-source tools, FAIR and data, to enable re-use and collaboration on Earth System research. Join to connect with researchers, share insights, publish your data and workflows, and stay up to date on events.

JOIN THE FORUM

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