Market Trends of ANZ Satellite-based Earth Observation Industry
Government Initiatives and Investments is Driving the Market
- Australian and New Zealand governments have prioritized using satellite-based data services due to the countries' substantial satellite operations, space tracking, and Earth observation capabilities. The market in the ANZ region has been under rapid expansion driven by new technology, growing demand for space-enabled data, private investment, a significantly increased funding commitment from the governments, and Australia's renewed focus on industrial capability and advanced manufacturing.
- For instance, in May 2023, the Head of the New Zealand Space Agency, Iain Cossar, said at the Andy Thomas Space Forum event that the country's space sector had begun purely as a commercial proposition, with increased investment from the government, which would support the market adoption of satellite-based EO market in the region.
- Additionally, in September 2022, the New Zealand government launched a review of its space policy and its role in the country's economic, national security, regulatory, international, and environmental interests, which would upsurge the demand for satellite-based earth observation services in the region.
- The SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), Australia's leading national space industry and research consortium, focuses on advancing EO, one of the CRC's three main research programs. The CRC, which has its headquarters in Adelaide, is building on Australia's expertise in transforming ever-increasing satellite data streams into crucial information that can be used to make decisions for industry, government, and the military, which shows the governmental effort to support the satellite-based data and heart observation market in the region.
- Additionally, in October 2022, the South Australian Government planned to launch its state satellite Kanyani in 2023. The SmartSat CRC has been in charge of the Kanyini satellite for the South Australian Space Services Mission in collaboration with two South Australian space companies, Inovor Technologies, and Myriota, for designing, building, and integrating the Internet of Things payload, collecting data from sensors and devices on Earth's surface.
Earth Observation Data is Contributing a Significant Portion of the Market Share
- The region's agricultural sector can have increased climate resilience and productivity by using satellite-based Earth observation data and technology, which is driving the demand for critical earth observation data in the market, supported by the increasing investment activities in the region for research and development.
- For instance, in May 2023, The UK Government's Science & Technology Facilities Council increased its priority in research and development in developing the UK-Australia AgroClimate Space Programme (EO4AgroClimate) with approximately USD 5.4 million in funding, which includes the bilateral earth observation research.
- Australia's active Earth Observation (EO) community is distributed across research, education, government, private industry, and non-government organizations. The country has formed a consortium called Earth Observation Australia (EOA) Inc., which enables these disparate organizations to impartially connect, learn, share, and work to grow capability and improve essential EO activities and services by 2026.
- Additionally, in April 2023, Spiral Blue, a Sydney-based space startup, announced that its Space Edge One (SE-1) computer had been successfully implemented, making it the first to be operational in space. The company received significant funding from the Australian Space Agency to develop the computer, which has been anticipated to revolutionize Earth Observation data processing capabilities in the region.
- The New Zealand government and NASA have formed a collaboration to develop earth observation research work which includes extreme weather events and impacts; water and climate monitoring; environmental monitoring (from the South Pacific to Antarctica); and biodiversity with an investment of USD 9 million by the Newzealand government in march 2023, which would increase the demand for the market and shows the potential growth for the requirement of earth observation data in the region.