The space sector is the source of great economic activity in many fields that are so many opportunities to find future employment. Listing these different areas of application, understand What are satellite images for?!
Each of us uses satellites in our daily lives, whether it's to find out the weekend weather, plan a mountain trip or watch a football match, for example.
The use of satellites has also multiplied in many areas:
● Defense with the creation of the Air and Space Force
● The environment, monitoring the planet, the climate and its evolution over time
● agricultural support
● Transport and the evolution of territories
● Health
Space is not always where we imagine it to be. Currently, new areas are being explored and many companies are being created to make the most of the data provided by satellites. Through imagers and remote sensing, satellite images are generated.
Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, software can now recognize and identify objects within satellite images automatically with a low error rate. This activity, which was previously manual, is now possible thanks to the greater availability and lower cost of satellite images and increased computing capabilities.
This intelligence allows us to imagine many applications in the economic world, of which some current examples follow:
● The automatic counting and periodic monitoring of cars in supermarket parking lots on Saturday mornings allows for an immediate and reliable measurement of the impact of an advertising campaign.
● Measuring the pace of activity in energy resource extraction zones and stocks on a global scale constitutes a reliable source of economic information that makes it possible to anticipate shortages or overabundance and, therefore, price trends.
● The development of autonomous vehicles and drones is a growing market. Among other things, it requires high-performance localization tools, environmental analysis capabilities and reliable means of communication in all environments. An opportunity for the jobs of the future!
Satellites therefore allow us to observe and inform, enlightening us about the reality of our world. This is an essential prerequisite before making the right decisions. The potential for exploiting satellite data and, in particular, these images from space is immense.
Why use satellite imagery?
Satellite images are very rich in information of all kinds. The information obtained from satellite images allows not only the production and updating of maps, but also the analysis of various aspects of the territory. Satellite images are generally not as precise as aerial photographs, but they cover large areas and allow regional analyses.
Agriculture
Satellite imagery allows agricultural producers to obtain information about their territory to manage crops more efficiently.
This technology allows you to plan operations and anticipate risks that may threaten your production. For example, they can use it to predict risks related to insect infestations, bad weather, droughts, etc. In agriculture, satellite images are used, among other things, to:
● Classify the main types of culture;
● Assess crop health;
● Estimate the total production of a crop;
● Map soil management practices;
● Monitor compliance with laws and treaties.
Forestry
Satellite imagery is used to obtain information on forest cover types (inventory of large groups and sometimes species), vegetation density and the reduction or regeneration status of resources.
They are used to monitor harvests and the quality, health and diversity of forests. These tools are very useful for managing forest resources and improving mapping on the subject.
Geology
In this field, studies focus on landforms, structures and the Earth's crust to facilitate understanding of the physical processes that alter the Earth's crust.
Satellite imagery is an interesting tool in this field, as it allows us to extract information about the structure, such as faults and folds. This information is often combined with other data sources to obtain complementary measurements.
Satellite imagery also enables planning and logistics, such as planning field campaigns or access roads in a mining region, monitoring projects, and creating base maps on which geological data can be overlaid.
Here is a list of the main applications of satellite imagery in geology:
● Mapping of surface deposits;
● Mining and oil exploration;
● Environmental geology;
● Mapping and monitoring.
Conclusion
Satellites therefore offer powerful tools for discovery and analysis, and allow us to illustrate facts with great precision through images, measurements, location and dating. These facts are a source of information that can be used by governments, research, companies and also investigative journalists.
Satellite data can complement other sources of information and can provide tangible evidence of climate change, natural disasters, illegal activities, coastal erosion, economic activity, deforestation, and many other topics.
