Who funds remote sensing research?

We count 263 funded remote sensing projects, active between 2019 and 2032, from 7 funders. The most came from EU · MSCA (49 projects), EU · ERC (44 projects) and EU · Digital, Industry and Space (24 projects). The median award is $928K, across the 258 of 263 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

263

Funders

7

Median award

$928K

Open calls now

6

Top funders of remote sensing research

Projects whose title or summary mentions remote sensing. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open remote sensing funding calls

6 open calls mention remote sensing today.

• CoSTAR Satellite Labs: Accessible creative R&D infrastructure
  Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)Up to £2,000,000Deadline: October 29, 2026 ·
  Real odds: About 1 in 4 funded (23% · Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), all funding decisions, 2024-25)
• Expression of interest: Small-satellite missions sandpit
  UK Research and InnovationUp to £1,870,000Deadline: November 25, 2026 ·
• Satellite technology
  National Science Foundation (SBIR/STTR)Not specifiedDeadline: July 7, 2027 ·
• Digital enablers and building blocks for collaborative Earth Observation and Satellite telecommunications for Space solutions (Space Partnership)
  European Commission · Horizon Europe€1,500,000 – €3,000,000Deadline: September 2, 2027 ·
• Preparing demonstration missions for collaborative Earth Observation and Satellite telecommunication for Space solutions (Space Partnership)
  European Commission · Horizon Europe€5,000,000 – €10,000,000Deadline: September 2, 2027 ·
• Integrating Remote Sensing and in-situ observations of Biodiversity, towards a fully interoperable observation and data framework
  European Commission · Horizon EuropeUp to €5,000,000Deadline: September 22, 2027 ·

Real odds

• About 1 in 4 funded · 23% · Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), all funding decisions, 2024-25 · UKRI investment and outputs data, table 2.1

Published success rates for the programs behind the open calls above: the share of applications the funder funded, program-wide, not for this topic.

Funded remote sensing projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• Enhancing our understanding of volcanic clouds using long-term satellite records and next-generation instruments
  UKRI · NERC · £907,041 · ends 2032
• CAREER: Neural Fields for Efficient Representation and Exploratory Analysis of Heterogeneous Geospatial Signal Sets
  NSF · CISE · $605,024 · ends 2031
• Continued Observations at the Panularis Hydrographic Station
  NSF · GEO · $952,734 · ends 2031
• CAREER: Understanding Florida Sea-Breeze Convection Using High-Resolution Remote Sensing and Artificial Intelligence
  NSF · GEO · $659,876 · ends 2031
• Rural agricultural communities across the texas panhandle and neighboring states face a widening skills gap
  USDA · $715,000 · ends 2031
• Advancing Atmospheric Sciences Through Radio Occultation
  NSF · GEO · $5,000,000 · ends 2031
• Constraining OH concentrations with Satellite data and Machine learning to Investigate CH4 Trends (COSMIC)
  UKRI · NERC · £803,734 · ends 2031
• IUCRC Phase I Purdue University: Center for Accurate Georeferencing of the Environment (CAGE)
  NSF · ENG · $500,000 · ends 2030
• Glial Neuronal Crosstalk in Neuropathic Pain and Diabetes
  NIH · NIDDK · $3,503,160 · ends 2030
• Collaborative Research: Exploring Polar Ionospheric Precipitation Using Antarctic X-ray Observations
  NSF · Office of the Director · $380,322 · ends 2030

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “remote sensing or satellite”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.