The National Observatory of Athens is a research center operating under public law rules and procedures and is supervised by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Ministry of Development and Investments. The Center was established in 1842 offering since then its services to research, science, and society. The National Observatory of Athens with its highly-skilled human resources and important infrastructure plays today an important role in research in the fields of Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space applications, Environment, Energy and Meteorology, Seismology, and Geodynamics, at European and international level.

The Operational Unit “BEYOND Center for Earth Observation Research and Satellite Remote Sensing” of the Institute for Astronomy Astrophysics Space Applications & Remote Sensing (IAASARS) of NOA, systematically participates in National and EU funded research and operational projects and has achieved considerable excellence in the area of EO-based environmental, DRR and sectoral (agriculture, energy, health) support. It develops state-of-the-art research and innovative services for the containment of disaster risks, triggered either by natural or man-made causes in the wider region of Southeast Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, and North Africa, by utilizing large satellite data acquisition antennas located at NOA premises. The BEYOND Centre of Excellence specializes in monitoring of natural disasters and human-induced disasters such as fires, extreme weather events, volcanic eruptions, landslides, soil erosion, water scarcity, industrial accidents, and toxic clouds, earthquakes, floods, and dispersion of Sahara dust and smoke. Through its participation in flagship European programs, the Centre has also provided cross-sector research and services in a number of crucial domains of economic development such as food security, exploitation of renewable energy resources, health services, and cultural heritage preservation.