CGI Supports ESA’s Φsat-2 Mission with Innovative Technology
ROME, June 23, 2026 – CGI, a leading IT and business consulting firm, is helping the European Space Agency (ESA) with its Φsat-2 satellite mission. Using CGI’s Insula platform, the mission aims to enhance Earth observation through advancements in artificial intelligence.
Developed by CGI’s team in Italy, the Insula platform efficiently processes large amounts of satellite data. It allows scientists and developers to access valuable analytics, such as identifying trends, monitoring anomalies, and creating predictive models. For the Φsat-2 mission, Insula is providing accurate datasets that are useful for scientific research and AI applications.
Since becoming available to the public in June 2025, Insula has assisted over 3,000 users in accessing data from satellite missions and has shared more than 10,000 multispectral images. The platform plays a crucial role in helping developers train AI models using real-world satellite information, fostering innovation in various fields.
Nino Pace, CGI’s Vice-President of Consulting Services for Italy, remarked, “The Φsat-2 mission showcases new Earth observation techniques, with findings made available through Insula. This innovation is a significant step for applying AI in Earth observation, helping to reveal new insights and improve efficiency.”
Φsat-2 is one of ESA’s most sophisticated small satellites, focusing on how onboard AI technology can boost Earth observation capabilities. The mission has the ability to perform tasks in real-time, such as spotting clouds, filtering out unusable imagery, detecting and classifying ships, generating street maps, and monitoring environmental conditions, including fire detection for emergency responses.
Mirko Albani, the Φsat-2 Mission Manager at ESA, stated, “The use of onboard AI processing with Φsat-2 shows our ability to provide timely, high-quality information for Earth observation. ESA’s open data policy allows wider access to Φsat-2 data, promoting involvement and showing how small satellites can yield important insights across various applications.”
Alberto Anaya, who leads CGI’s business unit in Spain and Italy, added, “Our collaboration with ESA in Italy builds on over ten years of experience in Earth observation and space innovation. With our skilled teams, we support the advancement of technologies that benefit the scientific community and contribute to future space exploration efforts.”
