The past few years have seen a band of young actors get into space with big plans to commercialize the satellite industry. But it's still not all about money. Some are focused on more ethical uses for space data.
Image: Christopher Small
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Few people will speak openly about it, but we all know there are spy satellites in space tracking our every move. We also know some satellites are used for military purposes, even though the 1967 Outer Space Treaty forbids the militarization of space. Then there's that other mega "-ization" — the commercialization of space.
And if you take the cynic's view — as I tend to do — all of the above present our global society with ethical, legal and moral hazards that we really ought to deal with, and fast. Space could be so great if it weren't for the current free-for-all.
Things are developing so rapidly, with a host of young, entrepreneurial actors on the scene, so convinced of their purpose they have even had the chutzpah to rebrand space as… New Space.
They will surely make a lot of money, and who is to blame them for trying.
But there are other companies in the New Space community who are determined to use space for a greater good. They use satellite data to help governments, relief organizations, aid agencies and other groups in war zones. During natural disasters, they map areas to determine who needs what and where.
India from space
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And some have very strict rules about what they will and will not do.
"The one thing we won't do with space is anything related to military activities," says Daniel Ghatoray, a business and innovation analyst at New Space company Astrosat. "Anything military would totally be against the ethics of our company."
It is a noble stance. But you could argue that even a war can be fought for a greater good … or that tracking the movement of terrorists achieves the same.
"Well, with this sort of technology, the resolution, and the innovation right now, you need to be very careful because if you start out on a military path, it could ramp up exponentially," says Ghatoray. "The technology is so advanced that you can't even speculate on the things that can be done with the data. So instead of getting lost in that web, we have decided not to go near it in the first place."
Astrosat's Dan Ghatoray: Their Recovery and Protection in Disaster (RAPID) system is designed to help developing countriesImage: DW/Z. Abbany
And again, it's a noble stance. Let's hope their ideology holds longer and stronger than Google's early mantra, "Don't be evil."
Astrosat is what Ghatoray calls a collection of scientists and engineers "who all believe that space can be used to solve or assist any terrestrial problem."
You know, like the Silicon Valley mantra: Make the world a better place.
So they use satellite data to predict malaria hotspots or track violent weather events. They are firmly behind the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, says Ghatoray. And they will refuse any jobs that smell a bit iffy.
"A few times we've been asked to take a very specialized image at a very high resolution of a very particular area, purely as an example of a sensor, and when we've had a look at it, we've discovered slightly more nefarious ambitions," says Ghatoray. "We want space to help people - not to help one set of people disadvantage another set of people, which is one of the fundamentals of war, where there are winners and losers. We believe space can make everyone a winner."
What's often striking about new data-driven industries is this assertion that the data can solve everything. That we humans are now mere data points, variables in a mathematical equation or algorithm, who can be punched either in or out.
But without human context and understanding, very little data from space will have a sustainable value on Earth.
Take a company like Masae Analytics. They have used satellite data to determine the damage done by wars in Mosul in northern Iraq and the Yemeni capital, Sana'a. They have used free, open data from Europe's Copernicus program and bought in commercial data. But they also send in researchers on foot wherever the security situation allows.
Masae Analytics' Emmanuel de Dinechin: Satellites can give you granular data on when and where destruction happensImage: DW/Z. Abbany
"Remote sensing helps us answer a whole set of questions," says Emmanuel de Dinechin, a partner at Masae Analytics. "But they do also raise a huge number of new questions, and those questions cannot always be answered through data science or Earth Observation. They require — old-school — boots on the ground, teams of researchers to assess why it is that such-and-such data shows up in such-and-such a way when we analyze it from space."
You might also mix in non-satellite data, like statistics on population density or historical detail about past outbreaks of a disease, to get a fuller picture.
Tanzania from space
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But even humans, as we all know, are rarely perfect. And there are those, like veteran satellite data scientist, Nigel Press of MapAction, who say we have allowed ourselves to be wowed by the fantastically detailed images we get from space today.
"Everything in a natural disaster is a disaster — it's a big mess, people are dying or probably already dead — and what you need are very simple facts. We call them the three Ws: Who is affected? Where are they? And what's their situation, what do they need?" says Press. "And that's not something you see on a picture. But you might see it on a graphic that we create, which would use some information from a picture. And, actually, looking at a picture of a disaster area is almost a diversion from that real problem of what on Earth has happened and what are you going to do about it?"
Accessing the data
No matter how good the data is, though, NGOs often come up against opposition from local governments, says Press, even after a natural disaster.
"Many governments are concerned about external influences or unwilling to accept external help," says Press, "and there's always going to be a suspicion of people who have detailed maps of your country and satellite pictures."
Nigel Press of MapAction: There's always going to be suspicion of people who have detailed maps of your countryImage: DW/Z. Abbany
Fortunately — and here's the slap in this anti-capitalist cynic's face — the commercialization of the satellite industry can help there. Commercial satellite operators like DigitalGlobe, Planet, and Earth-i, are all about making money with snazzy satellite images. They want us to be wowed by the visuals. But they do also occasionally release sets of data, free-of-charge.
Anne Hale Miglarese, the CEO at Radiant.Earth, says, "Even if data is open, it's often very hard to find." And she would know. Miglarese has a background in the commercial sector, but now with Radiant.Earth she has worked with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and Code for Africa, which helps local journalists report stories on issues like illegal forestry and illegal mining.
And she says, "The best way to access commercial data is through market competition."
"Many companies now do contribute in times of disaster, and that is occurring with all the new entrants to the market. And we'll see further reductions in price," Miglarese says.
That chimes with De Dinechin's experience.
"Five years ago, most of the data we work with today was simply not accessible to us — either it was only for defense or intelligence agencies, or you could buy it, but at astonishingly high prices," he says. "Prices have collapsed and precision has increased. And so much is happening on the supply side that eventually price will not be a key issue."
Looks like this collaboration between non-profit and commercial satellite actors could become a match made in … new space.
Natural disasters as seen from outer space
How do satellites see the Earth? And what do they find out about what's happening down here? Check out these impressive photos of natural disasters to discover for yourself.
Image: NASA
Only tears of sand remain
Earth observation satellites such as the European Space Agency's Proba-V collect daily images that allow for the tracking of environmental changes over time. The images above - taken in April 2014, July 2015 and January 2016 (left to right) - offer crystal-clear insight into the gradual evaporation of Lake Poopo, once Bolivia's second largest lake - due at least in part to climate change.
Image: ESA/Belspo
The beast has awoken
No matter how long volcanoes sleep, they're always in a bad mood when they wake up. The International Space Station was passing overhead when the Sarychev volcano, located in the Kuril Islands of Russia, erupted in 2009. Astronauts were able to snap a picture through a hole in the clouds. From dense ash to clouds of condensed water, virtually all natural phenomena can be examined from outer space.
Image: NASA
Don't play with fire
Every year, wildfires devastate the landscape - and ecology - in numerous countries around the world. Too often, these are caused by humans. This was also the case in Indonesia, where farmers burned peat rainforest areas for agriculture. On the island of Borneo and Sumatra, satellites detected fire hot spots in September 2015, and the plume of grey smoke that triggered air quality alerts.
Image: NASA/J. Schmaltz
German kids misbehaved
In Germany, parents warn their children that if they don't finish their meals, it's going to rain. And indeed, in 2013 it rained, so much that some of central Europe's major rivers overflowed their banks. As shown in this image from 2013, the Elbe burst its banks following unprecedented rainfall. In the photo, muddy water covers the area around Wittenberg, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Image: NASA/J. Allen
At the eye of the hurricane
A strong storm can cause irreparable damage through intense winds and storm surges from the sea. Space-based information is crucial in following development of such storms: intensity, the direction it's moving, wind speed … in the eastern Pacific Ocean near Mexico, this satellite image helped determine how tropical storm Sandra reached winds of 160 kilometers per hour by November 25, 2015.
Image: NASA/J. Schmaltz
Melting away from under us
Satellites also play a key role in monitoring climate change and, inevitably, the process of melting ice. From space, scientists were able to document how several glaciers around the globe have receded - as well as the subsequent rise in sea level. This photograph, taken from the International Space Station, shows the retreat of the Upsala glacier in Argentine Patagonia from 2002 to 2013.
Image: NASA
Hold your breath!
Dust often covers remote deserts - however, in September 2015, satellites offered this impressive view of Middle East areas enveloped by a dust storm, or haboob, affecting large populated regions. What satellites can observe from space supports air quality sensors on the ground to understand patterns on how the storms start and develop. These findings can improve forecasting methods.
Image: NASA/J. Schmaltz
'Naked mountain'
These are the words NASA used to describe the lack of snow on California's Mount Shasta, a crucial source of water for the region. Images documenting drought over the past years have consistently been showing brown mountains that should be white, and bare earth where people seek water. As ice melts, drought grows.
Image: NASA/R. Simmon
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The amazing things Sentinel satellites see
So far the EU's Copernicus program has sent three Sentinel satellites to observe Earth - 1A, 2A and 3A. But they're just the first halves. Enter Sentinel-1B, and the first mission becomes whole.
Image: ESA/Copernicus Sentinel data 2015
From the French Riviera
It may be among the strangest places on Earth, but this is where a lot of the European Union's Sentinel satellite equipment is being built for the Copernicus Earth Observation program. In Cannes, Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the Sentinel-1 satellites and a few of the others, too. The contractors include Airbus and many more. Sentinel-1B launches this week, making the first mission whole.
Image: ESA/Copernicus Sentinel data 2015
The story so far
Sentinel-1A was the first to launch on April 3, 2014. Since then, two have followed - Sentinel-2A on June 23, 2015 and Sentinel-3A on February 16, 2016. This shot from Sentinel-3A is one of its earliest. It shows the River Nile and Delta and parts of the Middle East. Using a sea and land surface temperature radiometer (SLSTR), the satellite measures the energy radiating from Earth's surface.
Image: ESA/modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016
In spectacular true color
This incredibly sharp image shows Red Sea coral reefs off the coast of Saudi Arabia. It was captured by Sentinel-2A on June 28, 2015. The quality of the Sentinel images is a vast improvement on previous satellite missions, such as Envisat. The Sentinel-2 mission is for land monitoring. It provides images of vegetation, soil and water cover, inland waterways and coastal areas.
Image: ESA/Copernicus Sentinel data 2015
In spectacular false color
This false color image of south Khartoum in Sudan was one of the first from Sentinel-2A, captured five days after it arrived in orbit. In the top right corner you can see a bit of the Blue Nile River. The scattered red blotches along the river banks indicate dense vegetation, which is one of the things the satellite monitors. It's a false color image, as color was added to aid interpretation.
Image: ESA/Copernicus Sentinel data 2015
Harbor under threat
This is another great shot from Sentinel-2A, showing Sierra Leone in West Africa. The country's capital, Freetown, is on the peninsula at the bottom of the image. Its economy depends on the natural deep water harbor. But ESA says the estuary is "threatened by a growing population [and] unauthorized housing development," which has caused the removal of many hectares of mangrove vegetation.
Image: ESA/Copernicus Sentinel data 2015
The 'Yuma checkerboard'
Many of the Sentinel images are like works of art. You don't really have to know what's going on to appreciate them. But scientists, policymakers and authorities charged with national security rely on satellite imagery. And given the tools and skills, normal folk can benefit too. The Copernicus program is driven by a principle of Open Data. This shows Yuma in southwestern Arizona.
Image: ESA/Copernicus Sentinel data 2015
Tracking change in the Aral Sea
This is the Aral Sea as captured by Sentinel-1A. It's a composite of three radar scans taken between 2014 and 2015. ESA says the Aral Sea is a "striking example of humankind's impact on the environment and natural resources. [...] It has lost around 90 percent of its water volume since 1960 because of Soviet-era irrigation schemes." The different colors show the changes between the scans.
Image: ESA/Copernicus Sentinel data 2014/2015
Meanwhile, Back in Berlin…
Captured by Sentinel-2A, this image shows a vibrant Berlin, the German capital, in exquisite detail. It shows how green the city is, with the Tegeler See and Wannsee on the western side. There's also the former airport, the Tempelhofer Feld, in the lower center of the image, which in summer blooms with people, kites and bikes. All these images can be seen in full: www.esa.int/spaceimages/Images
