Precision Farming

Around 38% of the world’s land and 70% of the world’s fresh water withdrawal is used for agriculture. By 2050, feeding a planet of nine billion people will require an estimated 50% increase in agricultural production and a 15% increase in water withdrawals, according to the World Bank. It’s predicted that by 2030, 40% of water demands are unlikely to be met.

Data from small satellites can be used to help predict environmental factors so that farmers and food producers can adjust their activities accordingly. This can range from seasonal planning, which helps farmers optimise what to grow and when, to more efficient farm water management through, for example, better irrigation management. This can help to maximise productivity and reduce costs while increasing environmental sustainability. Satellite communications are vital for agricultural work, for instance from machine-to-machine communication, between autonomous tractors and harvesters in areas where terrestrial networks are not reliable.

Marine Pollution Mitigation

Our oceans are subject to neglect and pollution which, if left unchecked, are likely to be devasting for the planet. Space-based Earth observations can be beneficial in observing oil spills, spotting harmful algal blooms, detecting harmful microplastics and monitoring the health of fisheries. Our oceans cover three-quarters of the Earth’s surface, contain 97 per cent of its water, and represent 99 per cent of the living space on the planet by volume, according to the United Nations. The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea.

Careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future. Despite knowledge, coastal waters are continuously deteriorating as a result of pollution and ocean acidification, which has an adverse effect on the functioning of ecosystems and biodiversity. Academia, government agencies and industry are joining forces like never before to design increasingly accurate instruments and satellites to improve environmental surveillance and generate reliable data, filling the gaps in our understanding and helping us to make informed decisions.

Air Pollution Control

Satellites can measure and map a multitude of aerosols and  trace gases, such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, methane and carbon monoxide, all of which affect our climate and the air we breathe, and in turn our health. These scientific missions can give us daily and global views of our atmosphere with a precision never seen before, and with them an understanding our ever-changing Earth. Monitoring air quality can help to identify pollution hotspots, which is important because polluted air can increase mortality rates and destroy ecosystems. Images taken by satellites can help pinpoint areas of pollution caused by fires, dust storms, sandstorms, volcanic eruptions or large industrial sources, and the movement between regions of pollution caused by human activity. According to the World Health Organization 91% of people live in places where air pollution exceeds its guidelines. From space-based measurements of the ozone concentration, critical for life on Earth, to measuring inner-city vehicle emissions, this data enables industry and governments to make informed decisions on air pollution policies. Decisions from taxing polluting fuels to making international climate action agreements.

Internet of Things

As the world gets ‘smarter’, we’re demanding better speed and reliability from our communication networks. Satellite constellations have a critical role to play here in supporting terrestrial networks. For example, the cost of laying fibre-optic cables renders many areas of the planet economically unviable for terrestrial networks – they are either too remote or the conditions too inhospitable. In fact, terrestrial cellular networks provide coverage to only 25% of the Earth’s surface. Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, on the other hand, have the potential to provide coverage to the entire planet, from pole to pole. This is critical to delivering the global connectivity required to enable new societal and industrial paradigms, including the internet of things. The IoT can help organisations gain a better understanding of how their assets are performing, enable smart asset tracking in logistics, and even transform cities into smart cities, improving road safety, unifying and managing transportation systems and traffic and saving energy to provide a better experience for residents.

Marine Efficiency

The main transport mode for global trade is shipping: around 90% of traded goods are carried across the seas. Demand for global freight is set to increase and, with it, maritime trade volumes are poised to triple by 2050. The need for more efficient and sustainable maritime transport planning is clear. Satellites can be used to enhance vessel detection rates, improve ship-to-ship or ship-to-shore communications, and provide safer navigation – for example avoiding close-quarter situations – benefiting cargo companies to maritime security agencies. They also enable route exchange, one of the core foundations for autonomous vessel navigation in the future. Autonomous navigation and traffic management eliminate human error, reduce the cost of crews, increase safety, and boost fuel efficiency, allowing for more efficient use of space in ship design.

Weather Forecasting

Technological advances since the 1960s have led to a growing reliance on remote sensing. Data provided by satellites adds days of early warning over major weather events, potentially saving lives, and it enables informed decision-making. It aids optimum ship routing forecasts in order to minimise lost time, potential damage and fuel consumption in heavy seas, and enables airlines to carefully consider atmospheric conditions when planning long-distance flights, avoiding the strongest headwinds and to ride with the strongest tailwinds. It touches all our lives, from the timing of sales and promotions of products ranging from snow tyres and roofing materials to summer clothes and holidays.

The economics of space have shifted throughout the decades, enabling the widespread adoption of small satellite weather forecasting. This, combined with advances in small satellite technology and new smart payloads and sensors, is making a wider range of weather forecasting applications possible – and economically viable. Real-time seamless prediction is also opening a vast range of applications, which are set to be in high demand. These enhanced capabilities include higher-quality weather imaging, cloud characterisation, and the measurement of ocean surface winds, soil moisture content and tropical cyclone intensity.

Wildfire Detection

In April 2020, the number of fire alerts around the world was up by 13% compared with 2019, itself considered a record year for fires at the time. While there are different views on the future trend of wildfires, scientists generally agree that future climate conditions will be more conducive to fire. This means that we can expect a greater number of fires, longer fire seasons, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and more high-intensity and extreme fires. Fire incidents are causing significant social, economic and environmental losses, ranging from increased fatalities and the destruction of ecosystems, homes and infrastructures to the social and health impacts long after these fires are put out.

In Australia, the 2019-20 bushfire season was one of the worst in history, and in early 2021, Nepal experienced one of the country’s worst wildfire seasons in almost a decade. News of these fires created worldwide awareness of the devastating effects of wildfires and the need to address them effectively. Earth observation nanosatellite platforms can detect wildfires by gathering space-based data from high-temperature events and can support ground-based observation and satellite data from space agencies to detect possible hotspots.