AgSat – An Ideal Optical-Thermal Platform for Agricultural and Environmental Remote Sensing

The growing human population, associated challenges related to climate change, and the insufficiency of existing terrestrial sensing systems require new sources of Earth observation (EO) data. Critical parameters like non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) and evapotranspiration (ET) are not properly estimated by existing operational EO systems. NPV is important for estimating fire risk, tillage intensity, and the risk of soil erosion due to water and wind. ET is important for agricultural production and water usage. AgSat will offer an advanced multispectral satellite concept that will not only measure those parameters, but also include on-board artificial intelligence and data processing to minimise data downloads while using laser-based systems for more efficient data transmission. AgSat will deliver custom, need-driven, cloud-free data products directly to stakeholders within minutes of acquisition. Science data will be available to end users under an open data policy.

Benefits:

• Data continuity with Sentinel-2/Landsat missions
• Open data for science products
• On-board anomalous event detection (fires, floods) and data product creation, including downlinking to end users