On August 16, 2024, ESA launched Φsat-2, a pioneering cubesat designed to revolutionize AI Earth observation. This small yet powerful satellite was sent into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of the Transporter-11 rideshare mission, which also included ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite. The successful deployment …
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The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, a collaboration between NASA and the French space agency CNES, is making significant advances in flood prediction. This innovative satellite provides unprecedented data on water heights across nearly all Earth’s water surfaces, including rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. These bodies of water, critical to Earth’s hydrological cycle, are …
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Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has transformed satellite imaging, providing a revolutionary capability to observe Earth’s surface in all weather conditions and at all times. SAR operates by bouncing radar signals off the ground and analyzing the returned echoes, which allows it to generate images through clouds, smoke, and darkness. This feature addresses a significant limitation …
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Netflora, developed by Embrapa, represents a significant advancement in forest management through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). This methodology utilizes a set of algorithms specifically trained to enhance AI forest species identification.
Forests are crucial for sustaining Earth’s biodiversity and are key in absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide, offering vital ecosystem services as defenses against climate and biodiversity crises. However, a significant knowledge gap exists due to most global forest data coming from low to medium resolution satellite imagery, which inadequately covers dynamic and dispersed forest systems such …
Google has announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to launch the MethaneSAT satellite, a critical initiative aimed at mapping methane pollution and oil and gas infrastructure from space.
The NASA PACE mission (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem) marks a revolutionary step in Earth observation. Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, this mission is set to provide an unprecedented view of Earth’s microscopic marine life and atmospheric particles. The launch was a success, with the spacecraft’s solar arrays deploying …
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Mining is a fundamental industry for the modern world, providing essential materials like iron, copper, cobalt, and lithium. However, there’s a significant gap in global knowledge about the mining sector, particularly in terms of its environmental and community impacts.
The global economy is increasingly reliant on ocean-based industries, generating over $1.5 trillion annually and supporting 31 million jobs. This economic impact, stemming from sectors like fishing, shipping, and energy production, has grown exponentially in the past 50 years and is projected to double by 2030. However, managing this “blue acceleration” is challenging due to …
NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission has produced unprecedented maps of the world’s mineral dust-source regions, significantly enhancing our understanding of these minerals’ roles in climate change.
