Twenty years of publication of the International Journal of Remote Sensing

The present volume of the International Journal of Remote Sensing is volume 20. The opportunity has been taken to write something about the history an d the development of the Journal over the past 20 years and to consider som e aspects of its present operation. This is set in the context of the devel opment of the subject of remote sensing (Earth observation) over the past 2 0 years, of the present state of the subject and of the expectations for th e development of the subject over the next 10 or 20 years.