Recently, a “973” Project regarding "Space-based Observations of Global Change-sensitive Mechanisms and Methods" has officially approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and will start implementation in 2009. This approval owed a great deal to the joint efforts made by the Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth (CEODE) as the initiator, and 6 institutes, the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP) for example, as the protagonists.　

As one of the 74 sanctified “973” projects in 2008, "Space observational sensitive factors of global change mechanism and method" is proverbially considered to be one of the national key fundamental research and development projects. It is designed to carry out many scientific research tasks, including: 

To analyze the remote sensing capabilities of current global change factors in terms of the demand for research topics of remote sensing information extraction;

To improve remote sensing monitoring competency of global change dynamic factors through close cooperation of inter-disciplinary organizations;

To Settle major key scientific issues in the field of global change on Earth observation;

To provide theoretical support for the development of remote sensing sensors and Earth observation systems;

To offer professional services to atmospheric, oceanic and land-related research and the application of remote sensing on global change;

It is foreseeable that the completion of this project will result in the establishment of a remote sensing monitoring system focusing on the enhancement of China's space-sensitive observation theory and technologies on global change, thereby consolidate its position in global collaborative research and remote sensing observation.