Spectral Reflectance Newsletter #77
Weekly newsletter on Earth Observation
Level-2 News
ESA selects four new Earth Explorer mission ideas [link]
"The selection follows a call for Earth Explorer mission ideas that was issued in early 2023.
From the 17 submissions, which were all thoroughly evaluated, ESA’s Advisory Committee for Earth Observation (ACEO) recommended that four of the ideas should go forward to the assessment study phase.
ESA’s Programme Board for Earth Observation formally accepted this recommendation, which means that the proposed CryoRad, ECO, Hydroterra+ and Keystone mission ideas will now be fully assessed and, in effect, take the first competitive steps towards becoming ESA’s twelfth Earth Explorer."
Thruster anomaly affects Sentinel-1 orbit control [link]
"An anomaly in a thruster used for Sentinel-1 orbit positioning control has resulted in the “orbit tube” diameter increasing from 100 meters to 200 meters maximum. The effect of this action on interferometric baselines has been predicted:
“The preliminary conclusion, supported by InSAR experts, is that the perpendicular baseline, a key InSAR performance indicator, will remain within acceptable limits. Burst synchronization at data-take start is not expected to be impacted, and degradation within data-take and as well as reduction of spectral overlap due to crossing orbits are expected to be limited.”"
Satellite imaging company Iceye raises $93 million in latest funding round [link]
"Finnish satellite company Iceye has raised $93 million in a new funding round, the company announced April 17.
Iceye operates a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) small satellites that capture imagery day or night and in any weather conditions, making them valuable tools for a range of applications including maritime monitoring, infrastructure assessment, and disaster response."
Maxar Intelligence looks to evolve beyond traditional imagery business [link]
"Maxar Intelligence, a division of Maxar Technologies specializing in satellite imagery, is looking to strengthen its position in the competitive geospatial intelligence market by forging strategic partnerships and focusing on international opportunities,
Once Legion, the company's long-delayed next-generation imaging platform becomes operational, Maxar will look to diversify its offerings beyond its traditional high-resolution imagery to provide more sophisticated analytics and novel data products like 3D mapping."
China launches commercial SuperView-3 remote sensing sat [link]
"China continued construction of a commercial constellation of remote sensing satellites early Monday with the launch of the SuperView-3 (01) satellite."
Satellogic is Relocating to the US, Announces Crypto Investment in 2023 Results [link]
"Earth imagery provider Satellogic has begun the process of relocating the company to the U.S., and recently received a $30 million strategic investment from cryptocurrency company Tether Investments Limited.
Satellogic gave a number of updates this week in its 2023 full year financial results. The company reported a 68% revenue increase compared to 2022, calling it “positive momentum,” but “slower than anticipated.”"
Capella Space Reveals First Light Imagery from Capella-14 “Born in the USA” Mission [link]
"On April 7, SpaceX launched Capella Space’s Capella-14 “Born in the USA” Mission. Close to 24 hours post-launch, Capella's in-house operations team made first contact with the satellite and completed a fully automated primary commissioning of the satellite."
First Hyperspectral Images Processed by AI On-Board Intuition-1 Satellite [link]
"KP Labs announced the successful capture of the first hyperspectral images by the Intuition-1 satellite, which provides detailed observations of the equatorial region.
Intuition-1’s onboard data processing marks a significant shift, reducing the time and resources required for satellite image analysis. It filters and processes data in orbit, sending only essential information to Earth, thus streamlining bandwidth use and speeding up data delivery. This efficient method ensures quick access to crucial data for those on the ground. "
U.S. Forest Service Selects Geo Owl for $70M Geospatial Services Contract [link]
"Geo Owl has been selected for the United States Forest Service's (USFS) $70M Geospatial Services contract. The contract provides geospatial services to support the National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, and Research and Development program areas across the USFS's 193M acres of land in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Services include remote sensing, photogrammetry, geospatial analysis, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), cartography, geodesy, and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)."
March 2024 – 10th consecutive record warm month globally [link]
"March 2024 is the tenth month in a row to be the hottest for the respective month in the ERA5 data record, going back to 1940. The findings are included in the latest Climate Bulletin of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The global oceans have seen 12 consecutive months of record high surface temperatures."
Developer's Orbit
Are you still downloading satellite images? STOP and STAC Part 2 [link]
"Follow this tutorial by Thiaggo Tayer on how to process satellite images with just a few lines of code without downloading it"
Umbra's Open Satellite Feed [link]
Follow Mark Litwintschik as he downloads and examines Umbra's freely available satellite imagery.
Data
CTrees’ canopy height map for California in 2020 has been published on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Open Registry [link]
"Canopy Tree Height maps for California in 2020. Created using a deep learning model on very-high-resolution airborne imagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)."
NASA’s PACE Data on Ocean, Atmosphere, Climate Now Available [link]
"NASA is now publicly distributing science-quality data from its newest Earth-observing satellite, providing first-of-their-kind measurements of ocean health, air quality, and the effects of a changing climate.
The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite was launched on Feb. 8, and has been put through several weeks of in-orbit testing of the spacecraft and instruments to ensure proper functioning and data quality. The mission is gathering data that the public now can access at https://pace.oceansciences.org/access_pace_data.htm."
Global datasets coming soon to the CLMS portal [link]
"In addition to the already provided European datasets, the CLMS team is working to enable access and download to global datasets from the Data viewer."
Existing datasets [link]
Snapshots
PACE "First Light" Gallery [link]
"Less than two months after NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite was launched, Joseph Knuble, OCI Lead Instrument Systems Engineer, created a series of stunning images. Using only 3 of 230 wavelengths (ultraviolet-to-visible) provided by this state-of-the-art sensor, he created most of the images using layers of red (630 nanometers), green (532 nanometers), and blue (465 nanometers)."
The Earth's transformation in satellite images [link]
"For over half-a-century, the Nasa and US Geological Survey's Landsat program has documented changes to the Earth's surface, making it the longest continuous space-based record of our planet's land ever."
Dubai floods seen from space [link]
"Dubai has been hit with torrential rain that flooded the desert city – submerging roads and vehicles and disrupting flights. More than 250 mm of precipitation was said to have fallen across the United Arab Emirates in less than 24 hours."
Interesting reads
NASA Data Helps Beavers Build Back Streams [link]
"Humans aren’t the only mammals working to mitigate the effects of climate change in the Western United States. People there are also enlisting the aid of nature’s most prolific engineers – beavers. Using NASA-provided grants, two open-source programs from Boise State University in Idaho and Utah State University in Logan are making it possible for ranchers, land trust managers, nonprofits, and others to attract beavers to areas that need their help."
Transforming Forest Monitoring Through Innovation: FAO And The NICFI Satellite Data Program [link]
"The NICFI Satellite Data Program provides comprehensive access to Planet’s high-resolution satellite monitoring to help reduce and reverse tropical forest loss. This program has enabled successful forest monitoring and conservation across the world’s tropical forests.
Some key statics that underscore the success of the NICFI Satellite Data Program in recent years:
Over 26,000 registered users across 158 countries worldwide.
A staggering 280 million tiles streamed for high-resolution tropical forest monitoring.
72% of users acknowledge the instrumental role of the NICFI Satellite Data Program in achieving their conservation goals, with 90% expressing willingness to recommend the Program to others."
Discover the Copernicus Interactive Climate Atlas - a new guide for understanding the climate [link]
"As the world struggles to cope with the impacts of climate change, accessible tools to understand our changing climate have never been more urgently needed. Launched on 20 February by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the Copernicus Interactive Climate Atlas (C3S Atlas) is a powerful new tool designed to help policymakers and other climate service users to analyse and interpret climate data."
SWOT Satellite Helps Gauge the Depth of Death Valley’s Temporary Lake [link]
"California’s Death Valley, the driest place in North America, has hosted an ephemeral lake since late 2023. A NASA-led analysis recently calculated water depths in the temporary lake over several weeks in February and March 2024, demonstrating the capabilities of the U.S.-French Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, which launched in December 2022."
Taking Earth’s Pulse with NASA Satellites [link]
"Natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, floods, and tornados can dramatically change the surface of Earth to the point where alterations are visible in space. Changes driven by human actions and interventions, such as mining and deforestation, are also visible in satellite imagery.
For over 50 years, NASA’s Landsat satellites have recorded our planet’s changing surface. Now, terraPulse Inc., a North Potomac, Maryland-based company, applies artificial intelligence to create meaningful maps to help academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and businesses understand the many impacts of climate change."
AI for Earth: How NASA’s Artificial Intelligence and Open Science Efforts Combat Climate Change [link]
"As extreme weather events increase around the world due to climate change, the need for further research into our warming planet has increased as well. For NASA, climate research involves not only conducting studies of these events, but also empowering outside researchers to do the same. The artificial intelligence (AI) efforts spearheaded by the agency offer a powerful tool to accomplish these goals."
Forests on the Brink: Satellite Imagery unveiling Loss and Shifting Forest Landscapes [link]
Forests cover 31% of the global land area and are a critical component of the world’s biodiversity. According to the "State of the World’s Forest 2022" report published by FAO, they host more than 75% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, being home to some of the richest ecosystems. Forests are crucial for maintaining ecosystem balance, offering essential ecosystem services. However, deforestation and forest degradation continue to take place at alarming rates. Deforestation, rising temperature, drier conditions and more frequent and severe fires are pushing different forest types to the verge of irreversible tipping points, and risk to lose their ability to bounce back from damage, with far-reaching consequences."
Upcoming Events
A new season of NoR webinars is launching [link]
"Following the winter season introducing EO cloud platforms and services, the Network of Resources webinar series is back with new sessions to give you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of EO cloud services or discover new ones."
The first two sessions:
openEO platform 24-Apr-24 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CEST
WASDI platform 08-May-24 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CEST
Webinar: Using Jupyter on the EWC to interact with ECMWF datasets [link]
"The European Weather Cloud (EWC) teams at ECMWF and EUMETSAT are pleased to invite you to the second thematic EWC webinar of 2024.
These recurring thematic webinars are aimed at new or prospective users of the EWC service, provided by EUMETSAT and ECMWF, which is available to all ECMWF and EUMETSAT Member and Co-operating States. Our primary objective is to provide guidance to users on how to effectively use the different capabilites of the EWC."
Webinar: Efficient Geospatial Data Access with NASA’s AppEEARS [link]
"Join this webinar on Wednesday, April 24, to learn more about NASA's Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS). This webinar showcases the system's capabilities and highlights learning resources to help simplify data access workflows using AppEEARS."
European Ground Motion Service 2024 Webinars [link]
"Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) invites you to a series of webinars focusing on the European Ground Motion Service."
How to use EGMS data - 13 May 2024, 14:00 - 15:00 CEST
"The first webinar will focus on the basics: accessing data, selecting areas of interest & overlaying the EGMS data with other GIS layers"
Interpretation of EGMS data - 17 June 2024, 14:00 - 15:00 CEST
"Experts will present examples showcasing the diverse applications of EGMS data:
exploitation of natural resources,
geological hazards,
urban areas and infrastructure,
climate adaptation"
Learning
Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem Jupyter Lab tutorial at Big Data From Space 2023 [link]
"A playlist with tutorial videos for JupyterNotebook examples for Sentinel Hub APIs in the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem."
This series of videos is a recording of the Welcome to the Using Jupyter Notebooks in the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem training course at the Big Data from Space Conference.