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Our goal is to obtain a scientific understanding of the entire Earth system on a global scale by describing how its component parts and their interactions have evolved, how they function, and how they may be expected to continue to evolve from decade to decade and even from century to century.

This is an enormous challenge. We must develop the capability to predict those changes that will occur in the next decade and well into the next century, from both natural causes and in response to human activity. This will require an integrated understanding of the entire Earth system where changes are likely to occur in periods of time spanning a decade or longer. And, as you know, that includes the land, the atmosphere, the oceans - I.E., the Earth's systems. 

Therefore, global, synoptic and long-term measurements must be made. These measurements must involve simultaneous observations of the Earth's interactive natural and human processes, using spaceborne sensors to be complemented by Earth-based instruments and a new generation of information-processing systems. 

Many nations of the world are already observing the Earth from space, or preparing to do so, to a degree we could hardly have imagined three decades ago.