The Role of Data Visualization in the ESA Communication Portfolio
Meisner, Robert
ESA, ITALY

In a world of fierce competition for funding and for visibility of scientific results in the general public, good images play an ever increasing role in getting the correct messages across to the target audience. Data visualization plays an important role in explaining and discussing the content of the data sets within the scientific community. But it plays an essential role when it comes to explaining complex data and it's benefit and content to a broad audience.
Providing data for a better understanding of our changing planet is one of the key objective of ESA's Earth observation programmes. But the data provided by satellites and the results developed by scientists around the world based on this data are becoming more and more complex and difficult.
Excellent visualizations of the results achieved within the Earth observation programmes explain the content and the necessity for the data and research in a way, that it makes the results comprehensible to a wider audience. At the same time the material makes it more attractive for media to use the material for their purposes.