Read time: 5 mins
Based on Trust in Earth Observation Data: Dependencies, Risks and Opportunities for Australia, published June 2024 by the Australian Centre for Space Governance.
Much of Australia’s economy and government functions rely on satellite data provided by foreign governments and companies. New ANU research has revealed that this creates a risk of Australia losing access to data, or receiving low quality, unreliable, corrupted, or inaccurate data, which in turn poses a risk to our security. The findings highlight the need to harness Australia’s strengths in data management and better contribute to global satellite infrastructure.
Read time: 5 mins
Based on Trust in Earth Observation Data: Dependencies, Risks and Opportunities for Australia, published June 2024 by the Australian Centre for Space Governance.
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Earth observation (EO) is central to Australia’s prosperity and security. EO data contributes $3.2 billion to Australia’s GDP, with the Federal Government spending $100 million annually to buy EO data from third parties such as multinationals and foreign governments.
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This heavy reliance on external providers means Australia is vulnerable to receiving poor quality EO data, and to losing access to data altogether, according to ANU experts.
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To lower this risk, policymakers should employ a national strategy for EO data that leverages Australia’s strengths in data management.
Every day, satellites observing Earth provide Australians data about their environment. This data is critical to informing decision-making and enables a range of Australian government and industry needs such as:
A policy paper produced by ANU researchers at the Australian Centre for Space Governance has found that the vulnerability of this data is posing a risk to Australia’s economy and national security.
Australia’s EO data comes from three sources:
(a) paid timeshare arrangements on Japanese, American, and European satellites
(b) purchases from multinational companies
(c) the governments of partner nations, in return for ground-based infrastructure and/or the data’s improvement in quality.
Australia is totally reliant on these arrangements for EO data.
Some 95 per cent of these satellites are commercially owned, and the companies offering EO data aren’t subject to dedicated oversight to assure the data’s quality.
Researchers showed that this is creating a risk of Australia receiving low quality, unreliable, corrupted, or inaccurate data, and that an uninterrupted supply of EO data from these partners isn’t guaranteed.
In the event of a geopolitical emergency, the quality of EO data could suffer, or Australia could lose access to it. This would massively disrupt Australian industry and government.
But this also presents Australia an opportunity.
The usefulness of EO data depends on the ability to verify its precision and accuracy, and Australia excels at this. If Australia stepped up in these areas, it would be less vulnerable to EO data-related risks.
The paper also makes a number of policy recommendations:
“In the event of a geopolitical emergency, the quality of EO data could suffer, or Australia could lose access to it. This would massively disrupt Australian industry and government.”
