Level-2 News
Capella Space co-founder steps down as CEO [link]
"The co-founder of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging company Capella Space is stepping down as chief executive as the company seeks to grow its business, particularly with government customers.
Capella Space announced Oct. 17 that Payam Banazadeh would step down as chief executive effective Oct. 23, remaining on the company’s board of directors. He will be replaced by Frank Backes, senior vice president at Kratos Defense and Security Solutions.
Imagery Startup Arlula Secures Lockheed Martin Investment [link]
"Arlula, an Australian start-up company, is to gain further funding from Lockheed Martin Ventures, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. Arlula announced the new investment, Oct. 19. It is the second major investment that Arlula has had this year. It also had a successful round of funding led by Main Sequence Ventures earlier this year."
NUVIEW Named to TIME’S List of the Best Inventions of 2023 [link]
"NUVIEW, which is building the world’s first commercial LiDAR satellite constellation, has secured a well-deserved spot on TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023 list. NUVIEW was honored in the experimental category."
Related:
Pixxel’s hyperspectral satellites were selected as one of TIME’s best inventions of 2023! [link]
Snapshots

Hurricane Otis Strikes Acapulco, Mexico as a Powerful Category 5 Storm [link]
"After rapidly intensifying overnight, Hurricane Otis made landfall near Acapulco, Mexico around 1:25 am CDT (06:25 UTC) on Wednesday October 25th as a powerful Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds estimated at 165 mph by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), making it the first Category 5 and also the most powerful storm to hit the Pacific coast of Mexico on record."
Related: Hurricane Otis (NASA earth observatory) [link]
Worldview Tour: Journey of Iceberg-22 [link]
Iceberg-22 calved from Thwaites Glacier, located in Antarctica in early 2002. From the vantage point of space we track its journey and evolution during the last 21 years.

Earth from Space: Panama Canal [link]
"Connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the 80 km-long Panama Canal is one of the greatest engineering projects of the last century.
Locks at either end are used to raise and lower the water level by as much as 26 metres: ships entering the canal are raised and then lowered to sea level as they exit. Under normal conditions, the canal sees up to 14,000 vessels pass every year, making it one of the busiest maritime passages in the world."
Interesting reads
Rapid Antarctic Melting Looks Certain, Even if Emissions Goals Are Met [link]
"It may be too late to halt the decline of the West Antarctic ice shelves, a study found, but climate action could still forestall the gravest sea level rise."
How NASA Sees the Air We Breathe [link]
"NASA and NOAA, among other agencies, worked together this summer through the STAQS and AEROMMA missions to calibrate and validate NASA’s new TEMPO satellite. The satellite and missions combined aim to not only better measure air quality, and the major pollutants that impact it, but also to improve air quality, from street to stratosphere. This effort was documented during the August 2023 campaign leg, which took place over the Chicago region."
Podcasts
Eyes on Earth Episode 105 – Imagery Challenges of Alaska [link]
"This episode of Eyes on Earth focuses on Alaska. Rich in wildlife and natural resources, not to mention its sheer size, Alaska has long been a source of fascination for remote sensing scientists. But it is also a source of frustration, with frequent cloud and snow cover and months of darkness each year. Three EROS researchers well versed in interpreting Landsat imagery from Alaska shared their insights about the Last Frontier."
Upcoming Events
Online Webinar about the Digital Twin of Alps platform [link]
Join this webinar, offered by Sentinel Hub, to learn how to explore, analyse and download data from the DTA platform for water resource and risk management in the Alps.
Date: Tuesday 31 October 2023
Time: 15h00 to 16h00 (CEST)
Learning
The presentation materials from the 2023 EnMAP Workshop are available for download [link]
"The presentation materials from the 2023 EnMAP Workshop are available for download until November 6, 2023."