Space Park Leicester to showcase world leading research and missions at national conference

Leading space experts from Leicester will reveal their involvement in research and missions that are expanding our knowledge and helping us to tackle some of our planet’s biggest challenges at the UK Space Conference 2025 this week.

Representatives from the University of Leicester’s £100 million space research and innovation centre, Space Park Leicester, will show how it has cemented its position as a global leader in Earth Observation research, with an impressive 25 per cent of its publications ranking among the top 10 per cent most cited worldwide.

The National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), headquartered at Space Park Leicester, has produced an impressive 554 publications since 1996, accumulating over 19,500 citations, demonstrating the significant global impact of its work. In fact, 25 per cent of Earth Observation publications from The University of Leicester rank among the top 10 per cent most cited worldwide.

A new film highlighting how Earth Observation research at Space Park Leicester is utilising advanced satellite technologies, AI-driven analytics, and state-of-the-art imaging techniques to monitor planetary changes will be aired for the first time today on the first day of the UK Space Conference 2025 in Manchester.

Dr Josh Vande Hey is Head of Earth Observation Science at Space Park Leicester, Head of the Earth Observation Science Research Group at the University of Leicester’s School of Physics and Astronomy and is Science Co-Director at the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation.

He said: “In just three years, Space Park Leicester has become a beacon of innovation in Earth Observation, bringing together academia, industry, and government to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. 

“Our work is not just about exploring space — it’s about using space to better understand and protect our planet.

“We can’t wait to share our latest successes with national and international experts and innovators from academia and industry at this year’s UK Space Conference.” 

Dr Josh Vande Hey will be joined at the conference by Professor Martin Barstow, of Space Park Leicester and the University of Leicester’s School of Physics and Astronomy, who will take part in a session looking at how we create sustainable value for all in space discovery and which will pose the question, ‘Who truly benefits from our progress beyond Earth?’

His colleague Dr Jenny Carter will also participate in a discussion about the Elfen mission’s goals to understand the influence of solar wind heavy ions at the magnetosphere and the formation and evolution processes in the nightside plasma sheet. Dr Carter will offer perspectives from the Elfen mission team, following their recent submission to the European Space Agency’s mini-F class call. The call’s outcome will be known in the autumn and the selected mission, or missions, will look to launch within the next five years.

Space Park Leicester will be on Stand C7 and NCEO will be on Stand B17 at the UK Space Conference which takes place on Wednesday, July 16, and Thursday, July 17.

They will be joined at the event by Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society, which is also based at Space Park Leicester, which will be on Stand A31.

To find out more about the UK Space Conference 2025, visit https://www.spaceconference.co.uk/2025/home 

For more information visit: https://www.space-park.co.uk/