Sentinel To Be Launched

Sentinel-2B was launched at 01:49 GMT on the 7th March from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. It’s the second of a constellation of optical satellites which are part of the European Commission’s Copernicus Programme. Its partner Sentinel-2A was launched on the … Continue reading

Remote Sensing Goes Cold

Remote sensing over the Polar Regions has poked its head above the ice recently. On the 8th February The Cryosphere, a journal of the European Geosciences Union, published a paper by Smith et al titled ’Connected sub glacial lake drainage … Continue reading

Earth Observation Looking Good in 2017!

2017 is looking like an exciting one for Earth Observation (EO), judging by the number of significant satellites planned for launch this year. We thought it would be interesting to give an overview of some of the key EO launches … Continue reading

Will Earth Observation’s power base shift in 2017?

We’re only a few days into 2017, but this year may see the start of a seismic shift in the Earth Observation (EO) power base. We’ve previously described how the sustainable EO industry really began this week thirty nine years … Continue reading

Monitoring ocean acidification from space

What is ocean acidification? Since the industrial revolution the oceans have absorbed approximately 50% of the CO2 produced by human activities (The Royal Society, 2005). Scientists previously saw this oceanic absorption as advantageous, however ocean observations in recent decades have … Continue reading

The cost of ‘free data’

Last week, the US and Japan announced free public access to the archive of nearly 3 million images taken by ASTER instrument; previously this data had only been accessible with a nominal fee. ASTER, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection … Continue reading

Satellite Data Continuity: Hero or Achilles Heel?

One of satellite remote sensing’s greatest strengths is the archive of historical data available, allowing researchers to analyse how areas change over years or even decades – for example, Landsat data has a forty year archive. It is one of … Continue reading

Supercharging Satellite Data

Satellite remote sensing is set for a speed turbo boost with the launch of the less than snappily named EDRS. The first node of the European Data Relay System (EDRS), which is effectively a space based satellite data super highway, … Continue reading

Why Satellite Agri-Tech Applications Will Grow In 2016?

2016 is likely to be the year of agri-tech for remote sensing. Its potential has been highlighted for some time, but last year its call was loud and clear. Agri-tech is the use of technology to improve agriculture production in … Continue reading

Four reasons why 2016 will be big for Earth observation

2016 has caught its first few rays of sunlight, but is already shaping up to be an exciting year for Earth observation (EO). Here are four reasons why: Reason One China launched the world’s most sophisticated geostationary satellite, Gaofen 4, … Continue reading