List of Earth observation satellites

Earth observation satellites are Earth-orbiting spacecraft with sensors used to collect imagery and measurements of the surface of the earth. These satellites are used to monitor short-term weather, long-term climate change, natural disasters. Earth observations satellites provide information for research subjects that benefit from looking at Earth’s surface from above (such as meteorology, oceanography, terrestrial ecology, glaciology, atmospheric science, hydrology, geology, and many more). Types of sensors on these satellites include passive and active remote sensors. Sensors on Earth observation satellites often take measurements of emitted energy over some portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., UV, visible, infrared, microwave, or radio).[1]

True color image of the Earth from space. This image is a composite image collected over 16 days by the MODIS sensor on NASA’s Terra satellite.
NASA Earth science satellite fleet as of September 2020, planned through 2023.
Earth observation satellite missions developed by the ESA as of 2019.

The invention of climate research through the use of satellite remote telemetry began in the 1960s through development of space probes to study other planets. During the U.S. economic decline in 1977, with much of NASA's money going toward the shuttle program, the Reagan Administration proposed to reduce spending on planetary exploration. During this time, new scientific evidence emerged from ice and sediment cores that Earth's climate had experienced rapid changes in temperature, running contrary to the previously held belief that the climate changed on a geological time scale. These changes increased political interest in gathering remote-sensing data on the Earth itself and stimulated the science of climatology.[2]

Classification

edit

The lists below classify Earth observation satellites in two large groups: satellites operated by government agencies of one or more countries (public domain) versus commercial satellites built and maintained by companies (private domain).[3] These lists focus on currently active missions, rather than inactive retired missions or planned future missions. However, some examples of past and future satellites are included. Active, inactive, or planned classifications are relevant as of 2021.

Public domain or government agency satellites

edit

Active government satellites

edit

Inactive government satellites

edit

Planned government satellites

edit
Name Status Agency Description
EarthCARE Planned ESA and JAXA Designed to study clouds and aerosols.[39]
Göktürk-3 Planned Turkish Ministry of National Defense Planned high resolution SAR satellite.
SABIA-Mar Planned AEB and CONAE
FORUM Planned ESA Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring; a mission to measure Earth's outgoing radiation emissions across the entire far-infrared electromagnetic spectrum.

Private or commercial satellites

edit

Active commercial satellites

edit
Name Status Owner/Agency Launch [note 1]
Disaster Monitoring Constellation[40] Active DMC International Imaging 2009
EROS A and B Active ImageSat International 2000
Flock-1 Constellation Active Planet 2014
GeoEye-1 Active DigitalGlobe (Maxar) 2008
GRUS [ja]-1A to E[41] Active Axelspace [ja][42] 2018
ICEYE Active ICEYE 2018
Jilin-1 (Hyperspectral) Active Chang Guang Satellite Technology 2019
Jilin-1 (Optical Active Chang Guang Satellite Technology 2015
NovaSAR-S1[42] Active UK Space Agency and Surrey Satellite Technology 2018
PlanetScope-2[43] Active Planet 2016
SkySat-1 to 3 Active Planet 2013
SkySat-4 to 7 Active Planet 2016
SkySat-8 to 13 Active Planet 2017
SPOT 6 and 7 Active EADS Astrium Azercosmos, and CNES 2012
SuperView-1[44] Active Beijing Space View Technology 2018
TripleSat (UK-DMC 3)[45] [46] Active DMC International Imaging 2015
Vivid-i 1 to 5[47] Active Earth-i[48] 2018
WorldView-1 Active DigitalGlobe (Maxar) 2007
WorldView-2 and 3 Active DigitalGlobe (Maxar) 2009
Pleiades Neo 3 Active Airbus Defence and Space 2021
Pleiades Neo 4 Active Airbus Defence and Space 2021

Inactive commercial satellites

edit
Name Status Owner/Agency Launch [note 1] End of mission
IKONOS Inactive DigitalGlobe (Maxar) 1999 2015
QuickBird Inactive DigitalGlobe (Maxar) 2001 2015
RapidEye Inactive Planet 2008 2020[49]
WorldView-4 Inactive DigitalGlobe (Maxar) 2016 2019

Planned commercial satellites

edit
Name Status Owner/Agency Launch [note 1] End of mission Description
CO3D-1 to 4 Planned Airbus Defence and Space / CNES 2024 Based on Airbus S250 Optical product

See also

edit
 
NASA Water and Energy Cycle satellite missions as of 2006.
 
NASA Earth science satellites as of 2017.

Related lists:

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e For constellations of multiple satellites, launch year is listed here as the maiden launch year for the first satellite in the series.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ Emery, William (2017). Introduction to satellite remote sensing : atmosphere, ocean, land and cryosphere applications. Amsterdam: Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-12-809259-0. OCLC 1002847813.
  2. ^ Jackson, Randal (2007). "Climate Change: NASA's Role". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory\California Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
  3. ^ Chuvieco, Emilio (2020). Fundamentals of satellite remote sensing : an environmental approach. Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-429-01445-1. OCLC 1138019143.
  4. ^ "International Astronomical Union". IAU. 12 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  5. ^ "qua Earth-observing satellite mission". Aqua.nasa.gov. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  6. ^ "The Aura Mission". Aura.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  7. ^ "CloudSat - Home". Cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  8. ^ "DSCOVR Space Weather Sentinel Reaches Finish Line." Spaceflight Now. Retrieved: 21 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Göktürk-2". Tai.com.tr. 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  10. ^ "GPM Launch Information". NASA. Retrieved: 21 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Precipitation Measurement Missions - An international partnership to understand precipitation and its impact on humankind". Gpm.gsfc.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  12. ^ "GRACE-FO Mission". NASA/JPL. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  13. ^ Weitering, Hanneke (22 May 2018). "SpaceX Launches Twin NASA Probes to Track Earth's Water (and Satellites Hitch a Ride)". Space.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  14. ^ "GRACE Tellus: GRACE-FO". GRACE Tellus. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Home". SMAP. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  16. ^ Neumann, Tom. "NASA: ICESat-2". Icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  17. ^ "Satellite LAGEOS-1". 4 December 2009. Archived from the original on 4 December 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  18. ^ "Landsat Science". Landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  19. ^ "PROBA-V: The Small Satellite for Vegetation Monitoring". PROBA-V. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Sentinel 6 Launch Lights Up Central Coast Skies; Mission Will Measure Rising Sea Levels". San Francisco Bay Area News, Weather, Sports From KPIX – News, Sports, Weather, Traffic and the Best of SF. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  21. ^ "NASA Soil Moisture Radar Ends Operations, Mission Science Continues." NASA. Retrieved: 21 December 2016.
  22. ^ "Welcome to the Home Page of the SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE)". Lasp.colorado.edu. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  23. ^ "ACRIMSAT — NASA Science". Archived from the original on 7 December 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  24. ^ "Sun sets for a NASA solar monitoring spacecraft." Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved: 9 August 2015.
  25. ^ "EO-1 Home - Earth Observing Mission 1". Eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 3 December 1998. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  26. ^ "Pioneering Earth Observation Satellite Retired by NASA". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved: 3 April 2017.
  27. ^ "Glory". Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  28. ^ Amos, Jonathan (4 March 2011). "Nasa Glory mission ends in failure". BBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  29. ^ "GOES POES Program ::". Archived from the original on 29 November 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  30. ^ "Home". GRACE Tellus. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  31. ^ "Decay Data: GRACE-1". Space-Track. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  32. ^ Neumann, Tom. "NASA: ICESat & ICESat-2". Icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  33. ^ "OSTM: Home Page". Sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  34. ^ "SeaWiFS Project - Spacecraft and Sensor Overview". Archived from the original on 18 December 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  35. ^ "CLARREO". Clarreo.larc.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  36. ^ "QuikSCAT". Winds.jpl.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  37. ^ "Aquarius end of mission announcement". Gary Lagerloef and Sandra Torrusio. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  38. ^ "Terra: the EOS Flagship". Terra.nasa.gov. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  39. ^ "ESA's cloud, aerosol and radiation mission". Esa.int. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  40. ^ "Satellite Constellations from". SSTL.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  41. ^ "「GRUS」打ち上げ・初期動作確認のお知らせ | Axelspace". Axelspace|Space within Your Reach (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  42. ^ a b "Axelspace – Space Technology". Axelspace – Space Technology. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  43. ^ "PlanetScope". Sentinel Hub. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  44. ^ "SuperView-1: Satellite Imagery, Overview, And Characteristics". EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  45. ^ "TripleSat Satellite Sensor". Satellite Imaging Corp. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  46. ^ "DMC 3 (Triplesat) / SSTL-S1 1, 2, 3, 4 / Beijing 2-1, ..., 2-4". Gunter's Space Page. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  47. ^ "VIVID-i". Earth-i. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  48. ^ "Earth-i launches first-of-a-kind satellite". Room, The Space Journal. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  49. ^ "RapidEye Constellation to be Retired in 2020". Planet. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2021.

Further reading

edit
edit