Satellite X-band SAR data exploitation trends in the framework of ASI's COSMO-SkyMed Open Call initiative

COSMO-SkyMed (Constellation of Small satellites for Mediterranean basin Observation) is an Italian Earth Observation (EO) and Dual-Use (Civilian and Defense) Space System conceived with the aim to establish a worldwide service providing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, products and services compliant with well-established international standards and relevant to a wide range of applications, such as emergency and risk management, scientific and commercial applications and defense Applications. Starting from 2007, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) has promoted the COSMO-SkyMed SAR data exploitation through several initiatives such as "Announcement of Opportunity", "Open Call for Science" and "Open Call for National Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)". This paper is focused on the trends and results observed in the context of the "Open Call for Science", an initiative completely addressed to the national and international scientific community since 2015. In particular, in this framework, the observed trend and advances in science and applications of SAR imagery and Interferometric SAR (InSAR) are summarized and assessed, also in light of the scientific evidence published in the recent literature by scientific users of ASI's "Open Call for Science".