One of the most important conferences on geoscience and remote sensing will take place at the International Congress Centre in Munich from 22 to 27 July 2012. The International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) is being organised by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS), part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

The 32nd IGARSS, themed 'Remote Sensing for a Dynamic Earth', is one of the highlights of the current remote sensing agenda.

This year, a record number of 3400 papers were submitted, of which more than 2000 were accepted as conference contributions. These papers come mainly from China, Europe and the United States. IGARSS is being held on the special occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the IEEE, the largest engineering organisation in the world.

The conference is focused on new applications for remote sensing, integrated Earth observation systems, satellite image processing, and current and future satellite missions.

Crucial to the development of new application areas and missions
"We are expecting one of the most interesting and best attended IGARSS conferences to date. The preparations are well underway - our organising team has worked intensely over the last few years and is now in the final straight," says Alberto Moreira, General Co-chair of IGARSS 2012 and Director of the DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute.

"Many of the research areas in remote sensing that we are very familiar with and which are now firmly established were first presented at an IGARSS conference," adds Moreira. One notable example is radar interferometry, first presented in the early 1990s, and now being used in the current TanDEM-X mission, for example.

"The scientific community that has formed around the IGARSS conferences plays a critical role in the development of new application areas and satellite missions," says Moreira proudly.

Opening and Plenary Session on 23 July 2012
The IGARSS conference opens with a Plenary Session on 23 July 2012. The guest speakers are Johann-Dietrich Worner, Chairman of the DLR Executive Board, who will address remote sensing and dynamic processes on the surface of the Earth, in line with the conference theme; Volker Liebig, Director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA, who will be reporting on the European perspective; and Ghassem Asrar, Director of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), from whom the attendees will learn more about current advances in climate research and future possibilities for Earth observation. DLR and ESA will be broadcasting the Plenary Session live via a webcast.

DLR, ESA and numerous partners exhibiting
As hosts, DLR and ESA will be present with a large joint stand in the exhibition hall. Earth observation images, terrain models and animations of the Alpine region, from Munich to Venice, will be displayed there. A DLR team will be reporting throughout the conference in German and English via a specially created blog.

Besides DLR and ESA, 26 other exhibitors will be present, including partner space agencies NASA, JAXA and CSA, as well as companies such as Astrium, Kayser-Threde, Space Imaging, Japan Space Systems, RapidEye, EXELIS and Agilent Technologies. Finally, DLR_School_Lab will also be represented at a stand with ESA.

Information exchange on remote sensing
IGARSS provides an annual opportunity for scientists, engineers and decision makers to exchange information on the latest developments in remote sensing and Earth observation.

Some 2400 experts from more than 70 countries are expected in Munich; they will use this forum not just for information and education, but also for networking. The event is aimed at specialists, but participation is open to all interested persons. An overview of the registration fees as well as the form can be found here.