The Ground Segment Coordination Body GSCB started to address this challenge in 2005 through the HMA (Heterogeneous Missions Accessibility), a collaborative project among the European and Canadian Space Agencies and lead by the European Space Agency, which objective is to guarantee a seamless and harmonised access to heterogeneous Earth observation (EO) datasets from multiple mission ground segments, including national missions and ESA missions.

The goal of HMA is to define the interoperability concept, standardise the ground segment interfaces of the satellite missions for easier access to EO data. Thus HMA provides interoperability for coordinated data access enabling the interactions with services or Value Adders and EO Contributing Missions. HMA focuses therefore in the definition of the interfaces among the Users of space observation data and the different ground segments (and among the ground segments) in a well specified end to end architecture.

HMA has defined the discovery, catalogue ordering feasibility analysis and identity management interface standards relying on existing standards, if available, and the direct collaboration among the space agencies.

HMA has followed at the maximum extent already available international standards and coordinated with the EC INSPIRE.