#31 Weekly Remote Sensing and Geoscience news!

Kenya launches first operational satellite into space; Cbers-6: New partnership satellite between Brazil and China will be a radar; JUICE Launched; Planet Explore 2023: A recap

These are the topics of our #31 newsletter issue:

🛰 Kenya launches first operational satellite into space

🛰 Cbers-6: New partnership satellite between Brazil and China will be a radar

🛰 JUICE Launched: Unlocking the Mysteries of Jupiter's Icy Moons

🛰 Planet Explore 2023: A recap of the latest advancements in Earth Observation

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Kenya launches first operational satellite into space

🛰 The satellite, developed by Kenyan engineers, will collect agricultural and environmental data, including on floods, drought and wildfires, that authorities plan to use for disaster management and to combat food insecurity.

The Star Kenya on Twitter

📰 Read more: Kenya launches first operational satellite into space

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Cbers-6: New partnership satellite between Brazil and China will be a radar

The president of Brazil, Lula, and the president of China, Xi Jinping, signed this Friday (14th) an agreement that provides for the launch of a sixth satellite in partnership between the countries.

“In the case of the Amazon, which is a very humid region where cloud coverage is very significant, the radar allows you to fly over the clouds and map the terrain. This is extremely important and a great advantage. The CBERS-6 satellite complements the other satellites that are currently in orbit.” (Antônio Carlos de Oliveira Pereira Júnior, responsible for the space segment of the CBERS program).

📰 Learn more (in Portuguese): Cbers-6: Novo satélite de parceria entre Brasil e China deve custar mais de 100 milhões de dólares e entrar em órbita em 2028

CBERS-6: New satellite partnership between Brazil and China is expected to cost over 100 million dollars and enter into orbit in 2028. - Photo: INPE.

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JUICE Launched: Unlocking the Mysteries of Jupiter's Icy Moons

🚀 The JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) spacecraft was launched yesterday (June 22, 2022) by the European Space Agency (ESA). The JUICE mission is designed to study Jupiter and its icy moons, including Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto, to better understand their composition, geology, and potential for habitability. The spacecraft is expected to reach Jupiter in 2029 and conduct detailed studies of its moons for at least three years.

Planet Explore 2023: A recap of the latest advancements in Earth Observation

1️⃣ The company announced a new product called Analysis-Ready PlanetScope Data, which is designed to be temporally and spatially consistent. The data is also harmonized using a combination of Sentinel, Landsat, MODIS, and VIIRS, and is co-registered to make time-series analysis or analytical modeling easier.

2️⃣ The company introduced their latest product, the Pelican constellation, which boasts high resolution and low latency. Their goal is to have a constellation of 30 satellites, with a resolution of 30cm and up to 30 revisits per day, with only 30 minutes between each revisit. They have integrated satellite communications and onboard computing capabilities to enable capture-to-delivery within sub-hour time frames.

3️⃣ The company also announced the upcoming launch of Tanager, a hyperspectral constellation with more than 400 5-nanometer spectral bands. Tanager is specifically designed to detect and locate methane and CO2 super-emitters, but it also has various applications in industries ranging from mining and biodiversity to defense.

4️⃣ During the event, the company announced the upcoming launch of Planetary Variables in Planet APIs, (VanderSatNL), which will soon be available through SaloSciences PVs. The company emphasized that the future of their products is not solely focused on imagery but also includes the fusion of multiple data sources using algorithms to automatically identify objects, patterns, and time series.

5️⃣ The company presented several demonstrations during the event showcasing how AI-based change detection in PlanetScope is currently being used to tip and cue SkySat satellites, allowing them to detect and understand changes in various regions such as the Amazon and the deserts of Algeria.

6️⃣ During the event, the company discussed how the recent acquisition of Sinergise will help expedite their Earth Data Platform. They explained that @Sentinel_Hub, which is part of the platform, enables users to process, analyze, and create applications based on Earth data without requiring them to build their own systems and pipelines.

7️⃣ The company highlighted during the event that they do not operate alone, but rather work collaboratively with a vast ecosystem of partners. They emphasized that they are continually growing this network and expressed their belief that in the future, their ecosystem will support nearly every country and company across the globe.

8️⃣ The company concluded the event with a demo they had collaborated on with Microsoft, which they called "Queryable California" or "PlanetGPT." The demo showcased how next-generation AI technology can enhance the accessibility of satellite data by indexing it and making it searchable, conversational, and context-aware.

I just wanted to express my gratitude to Kevin Weil for sharing his thoughts and insights on his Twitter thread. His words inspired me to write a blog post on the topic, and I am thrilled to have been able to share it with the community. Thank you, Kevin, for your contributions to the ongoing conversation in our industry.

📰 Read the Kevin's thread on Twitter: News by Kevin Weil from Planet Explorer 2023

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With love,

— Rafaela Tiengo