Explainer: Earth observation satellites & climate analytics — a practical primer for teams that need to ship

North America now operates over 310 active Earth observation satellites—26% of the global fleet—generating more than $2.2 billion in market value in 2024 alone. Yet for every team successfully translating orbital data into climate action, dozens more find themselves drowning in terabytes of imagery that never informs a single decision. The difference between these outcomes rarely lies in technology access; it hinges on understanding data quality frameworks, aligning with emerging standards, and building workflows that resist measurement theater. This primer cuts through the complexity to deliver what practitioners actually need: foundational concepts, honest assessments of what works and what fails, and a concrete checklist for shipping climate analytics that matter.

Why It Matters

The Earth observation (EO) market has reached an inflection point where commercial capabilities now rival government systems in resolution, revisit frequency, and analytical sophistication. In 2024, the North American EO market reached $2.23 billion, representing 35% of global market share, with projections indicating growth to $2.43 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.73%. The United States alone accounts for approximately $1.69 billion of this activity, with federal agencies including NASA, NOAA, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency contributing over $1.9 billion annually to operational Earth observation budgets.

This growth trajectory reflects a fundamental shift in how organizations approach climate intelligence. Environmental monitoring now commands the largest application share in the North American EO sector, with climate and environmental segments growing at 19% CAGR—the fastest rate among all application categories. Commercial entities now represent 49% of end-user demand, driven by regulatory pressure from frameworks like the SEC's climate disclosure rules and California's SB 253, which mandate facility-level emissions reporting for companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion.

The stakes extend beyond compliance. The insurance industry faces climate-related losses exceeding $100 billion annually across North America, while agricultural operations leverage satellite-derived insights to optimize irrigation, detect crop stress, and quantify soil carbon—applications that saw 48% increased demand between 2021 and 2024. For teams building climate products, integrating with carbon registries, or supporting corporate sustainability functions, Earth observation has transitioned from a nice-to-have data source to essential infrastructure.

Key Concepts

Earth Observation (EO): The systematic collection of information about Earth's physical, chemical, and biological systems using sensors mounted on satellites, aircraft, or ground-based platforms. Modern EO encompasses multispectral imaging (capturing discrete wavelength bands), synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for all-weather, day-night monitoring, and radio occultation for atmospheric profiling. The critical distinction for climate applications lies between raw imagery and Analysis Ready Data (ARD)—pre-processed datasets that have undergone geometric correction, atmospheric compensation, and radiometric calibration according to CEOS (Committee on Earth Observation Satellites) specifications.

Hyperspectral Imaging: While conventional multispectral sensors capture data across 4-10 spectral bands, hyperspectral instruments sample 100-400+ contiguous narrow bands spanning 400-2500 nanometers. This spectral resolution enables detection of specific molecular signatures—methane absorption at 1650nm, CO2 at 2000nm, chlorophyll fluorescence indicating photosynthetic activity. Planet Labs' Tanager constellation, launched August 2024, exemplifies operational hyperspectral capability, detecting methane plumes as small as 1,200 kg/hour at individual facilities across the Permian Basin.

Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV): The systematic framework for quantifying emissions or removals, documenting methodologies, and providing independent confirmation of climate claims. Satellite-based MRV (often termed "digital MRV" or DMRV) substitutes or augments ground-based measurement with orbital observations. Verra's 2024 DMRV initiative establishes technical verification guidelines that accept satellite-derived forest carbon estimates for certified projects—a regulatory milestone that legitimizes remote sensing as primary evidence.

Disaster Monitoring and Risk Analytics: The application of EO data to detect, characterize, and predict extreme events including floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and droughts. Modern systems achieve sub-3-hour revisit times over critical regions, enabling parametric insurance products that trigger payouts based on satellite-confirmed event parameters rather than loss adjustment processes. ICEYE's SAR constellation and Capella Space's 0.25-meter resolution imaging represent the current frontier for rapid disaster intelligence.

Space-Based Solar Irradiance Measurement: Direct observation of solar energy input and reflection characteristics that govern Earth's energy budget. Instruments like NOAA's CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) provide authoritative measurements of incoming solar radiation, outgoing longwave radiation, and reflected shortwave radiation—fundamental parameters for climate modeling and renewable energy resource assessment.

What's Working and What Isn't

What's Working

Methane Point-Source Detection at Scale: The Carbon Mapper Coalition, powered by Planet Labs' Tanager hyperspectral constellation, has operationalized facility-level methane and CO2 detection with free public data access (30-day delay for non-commercial use). First emissions detections published in October 2024 documented plumes at landfills and oil/gas operations across North America, demonstrating that super-emitter identification—previously requiring expensive aircraft surveys—now operates from orbit with global reach.

All-Weather Flood Monitoring: SAR-based flood extent mapping has achieved operational maturity, with Capella Space and ICEYE providing reliable imagery regardless of cloud cover or time of day. Floodbase's parametric insurance products leverage these capabilities to trigger payouts within 72 hours of flood events, eliminating the weeks-long adjustment processes that historically left affected communities waiting for relief.

AI-Enhanced Weather and Soil Moisture Intelligence: Spire Global's 2024 partnership with NVIDIA produced AI weather models extending forecasts to 45 days—three times traditional numerical weather prediction skill horizons. Their April 2024 Soil Moisture Insights product delivers AI-enhanced global data with 40+ years of historical baselines, enabling agricultural applications from drought early warning to carbon farming verification.

What Isn't Working

Resolution-Accuracy Mismatch in Carbon MRV: Many forest carbon projects deploy 10-30 meter resolution satellite data (Sentinel-2, Landsat) for biomass estimation, but fail to account for allometric uncertainty, mixed pixels at forest edges, and the fundamental difference between canopy cover (what satellites see) and actual carbon stocks (what registries need). Planet's 3-meter forest carbon monitoring represents a step forward, but ground-truthing remains inadequate across most deployed systems.

Measurement Theater in Corporate Reporting: Organizations frequently procure satellite analytics to satisfy checkbox compliance requirements without integrating insights into operational decisions. A 2024 analysis found that 61% of EO companies offer AI-powered data classification, yet fewer than 20% of corporate users modify procurement, logistics, or land management based on satellite-derived intelligence. The data exists; the decision loops do not.

Interoperability Failures Across Data Sources: Despite CEOS Analysis Ready Data specifications and GEO (Group on Earth Observations) coordination frameworks, combining data from multiple providers remains technically burdensome. Atmospheric correction protocols, coordinate reference systems, and temporal alignment requirements demand specialized expertise that most sustainability teams lack. The 2024 ACIX-III (Atmospheric Correction Inter-Comparison Exercise) revealed persistent 15-30% variance in surface reflectance products across different processing chains—variance that propagates into derived climate metrics.

Key Players

Established Leaders

Planet Labs (San Francisco, CA): Operates the largest commercial Earth observation constellation with daily global coverage at 3-meter resolution, plus hyperspectral Tanager satellites for emissions monitoring. Holds $20M+ multi-year contract with Carbon Mapper through 2030.

Maxar Technologies (Westminster, CO): Industry leader in high-resolution optical imagery at 30-50 cm resolution through WorldView and GeoEye constellations. Dominant in government contracts including $150M+ NGA agreements, with expanding commercial applications in infrastructure monitoring and change detection.

Spire Global (Vienna, VA): Radio occultation and GNSS-R specialist providing atmospheric profiles and weather data to NOAA under 2024 contract. Fleet of 186+ satellites enables unique capabilities in soil moisture monitoring and high-resolution weather forecasting.

ICEYE (Westlake Village, CA / Helsinki, Finland): SAR constellation leader specializing in natural catastrophe monitoring. Primary data provider for parametric insurance products, with sub-1-meter resolution and rapid revisit capabilities for flood, wildfire, and hurricane damage assessment.

BlackSky Technology (Herndon, VA): High-frequency monitoring constellation achieving 15+ daily revisits over areas of interest. Deployed 60 small satellites by April 2025, with $45M Air Force contract validating defense and intelligence applications alongside commercial environmental monitoring.

Emerging Startups

Muon Space (Mountain View, CA): Raised $181.2M through Series B-II in 2024 for LEO satellite constellations targeting Earth observation and climate applications. Backed by Congruent Ventures and Radical Ventures.

GHGSat (Montreal, Canada): Dedicated greenhouse gas monitoring constellation with facility-scale methane and CO2 quantification capabilities. Specialized hyperspectral sensors designed specifically for emissions detection rather than repurposed general-purpose instruments.

Pachama (San Francisco, CA): AI-powered forest carbon MRV platform combining satellite imagery with machine learning for VCS-compliant verification. Acquired by Carbon Direct in November 2025 for integration into enterprise carbon management.

Sylvera (London, UK / New York, NY): Carbon credit rating and intelligence platform that raised $57M Series B in 2024. Uses Planet's high-resolution forest data to assess offset project quality and detect reversal events.

Orbify (Krakow, Poland / Remote): Satellite-based MRV platform for carbon offset projects with integrated biodiversity tracking. Targets accessibility for smaller projects historically priced out of satellite monitoring.

Key Investors & Funders

Lux Capital: Over $7B AUM with significant space and climate tech portfolio including Saildrone, Hadrian, and numerous EO-adjacent ventures. Focus on "sci-fi to sci-fact" investments across aerospace, defense, and climate.

Congruent Ventures: Climate tech specialist VC, lead investor in Muon Space's $181.2M raise. Active across the EO value chain from hardware to analytics applications.

DCVC (Data Collective): Early backer of Capella Space and numerous AI/climate intersections. Thesis centered on "deep tech" ventures with defensible technical moats.

NASA and NOAA Commercial Data Programs: Federal agencies collectively deploy $1.9B+ annually in Earth observation, with significant commercial data procurement shifting from government-owned satellites to commercial providers.

Bloomberg Philanthropies: Anchor funder of Carbon Mapper Coalition alongside RMI and High Tide Foundation. Focuses on methane super-emitter transparency as climate leverage point.

Examples

California Methane Super-Emitter Program: The California Air Resources Board leverages Carbon Mapper data to identify and track methane super-emitters under SB 1383 implementation. In the first six months of Tanager-1 operations, the system detected and attributed 47 distinct emission plumes from oil and gas facilities, landfills, and agricultural operations across the state—emissions totaling an estimated 2.3 million metric tons CO2-equivalent annually. This satellite-derived intelligence directly informs enforcement priorities and quantifies the 40% of total emissions coming from fewer than 5% of facilities.

USDA Climate-Smart Agriculture Pilots: The USDA's Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program incorporates Planet's Forest Carbon Monitoring and Spire's Soil Moisture Insights across 27 state-level pilot projects. In Iowa and Nebraska corn production, satellite-derived soil moisture data reduced irrigation water use by 18% while maintaining yields—verified through integration with in-field sensor networks. The program's MRV framework explicitly requires satellite verification layers for all carbon payment claims exceeding $10,000.

North American Wildfire Risk Assessment (AON/ICEYE): Insurance broker AON partnered with ICEYE to develop wildfire exposure models incorporating real-time SAR-based fuel moisture monitoring across California, Oregon, and British Columbia. The 2024 fire season saw parametric products pay 340 claims within 14 days of satellite-confirmed fire perimeter intersection with insured properties—compared to 90+ day timelines for traditional loss adjustment. The model reduced insurer capital requirements by 23% through improved risk quantification.

Action Checklist

• Audit existing climate data workflows to identify where satellite-derived inputs could replace or validate current methods—prioritize high-uncertainty metrics like Scope 3 emissions or land-use change attribution
• Evaluate data providers against CEOS Analysis Ready Data specifications; reject offerings that lack documented atmospheric correction methodology and uncertainty quantification
• Establish ground-truth validation protocols before scaling satellite-derived metrics; budget for in-situ sensor networks or manual sampling at minimum 5% of monitored locations
• Integrate satellite data APIs directly into decision systems (ERP, supply chain platforms, risk dashboards) rather than generating standalone reports that require manual interpretation
• Define clear decision rules linking satellite observations to operational actions—if no decision changes based on satellite data, question whether the investment delivers value
• Specify temporal requirements explicitly; daily monitoring costs 10-50x more than weekly or monthly products, and many applications do not require real-time data
• Verify that selected MRV providers hold recognized accreditations (Verra DMRV, Gold Standard) for intended use cases before incorporating satellite data into compliance filings
• Build internal capacity for satellite data interpretation through training programs or embedded specialists; over-reliance on vendor-provided analytics creates dependency and limits optimization
• Establish data governance protocols addressing satellite imagery storage, access controls, and retention periods—particularly for data supporting regulatory compliance claims
• Monitor standards evolution through CEOS and GEO working groups; 2025-2026 will see significant harmonization in hyperspectral data formats and uncertainty reporting requirements

FAQ

Q: What resolution and revisit frequency do we actually need for climate monitoring applications? A: Requirements vary dramatically by use case. Forest carbon monitoring typically requires 3-10 meter resolution at monthly or quarterly intervals. Methane super-emitter detection needs hyperspectral capability with weekly revisits over known emission sources. Disaster response demands daily or sub-daily coverage at <1 meter resolution. Most organizations over-specify resolution while under-specifying temporal frequency—a 30cm image from six months ago delivers less climate intelligence than a 10m image from yesterday. Start by defining the decision timeline: how quickly must data reach analysts to inform meaningful action?

Q: How do we avoid greenwashing accusations when using satellite data for sustainability claims? A: Three practices differentiate legitimate satellite-based claims from measurement theater. First, publish methodology including data sources, processing chains, and uncertainty bounds—transparency enables scrutiny. Second, implement ground-truth validation at statistically meaningful sample sizes; satellite data alone cannot substitute for physical verification. Third, connect satellite metrics to auditable outcomes: if you claim emissions reductions based on land-use change detection, those reductions should appear in subsequent inventory years with documented methodology consistency.

Q: What's the realistic cost structure for operationalizing satellite climate analytics? A: Costs span three orders of magnitude depending on scope. Basic access to public Landsat, Sentinel, and NOAA data costs only storage and processing infrastructure—typically $5,000-20,000 annually for moderate-scale applications. Commercial high-resolution optical imagery (Planet, Maxar) runs $2-15 per square kilometer depending on resolution and tasking requirements. Specialized hyperspectral or SAR products for MRV applications cost $50,000-500,000 annually for portfolio-scale monitoring. The hidden costs lie in analytics development, validation, and integration—budget 2-3x raw data costs for operationalization.

Q: How do satellite-based measurements compare to ground-based sensors for regulatory acceptance? A: Regulatory acceptance has evolved rapidly. The EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program now accepts satellite-derived emissions estimates as supplementary evidence, though not yet as primary reporting inputs. Verra's 2024 DMRV initiative explicitly permits satellite-based forest carbon quantification for certified offsets when combined with appropriate validation. California's Air Resources Board uses Carbon Mapper data for enforcement targeting. The trajectory points toward parity with ground-based methods within 3-5 years for most applications, but current best practice combines satellite observations with sparse ground networks for calibration and validation.

Q: What happens when satellite data contradicts other data sources in our reporting? A: Data discrepancies are inevitable and actually represent an opportunity for improved accuracy. Establish reconciliation protocols before discrepancies arise: define which source serves as authoritative for each metric, document investigation procedures for variance exceeding defined thresholds, and maintain version control on all climate data. When satellite observations contradict facility-reported emissions, treat this as a signal warranting investigation rather than automatically accepting either source. The California methane program specifically uses satellite-ground discrepancies to identify under-reporting and prioritize inspections.

Sources

• Fortune Business Insights. "Earth Observation Market Size, Share | Industry Report, 2030." Published 2024. Market sizing and North American share data.

• Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). "Analysis Ready Data Product Family Specifications." Updated August 2025. Technical standards for satellite data interoperability.

• Planet Labs. "Carbon Mapper Releases First Emissions Detections from the Tanager-1 Satellite." October 2024. Hyperspectral methane detection capabilities and Carbon Mapper partnership details.

• Spire Global. "Spire Global Introduces Advanced Soil Moisture Insights." April 2024. AI-enhanced soil moisture products and NOAA contract information.

• Verra. "World's Largest Carbon Program Pilots Digital Measuring of Forest Carbon." 2024. DMRV framework and satellite-based MRV acceptance criteria.

• European Space Agency. "HYPERSPECTRAL 2024 Workshop Proceedings." Frascati, Italy. International standardization efforts for hyperspectral climate data.

• Capella Space. "TCarta and Capella Space Partner to Leverage All-weather SAR Imagery for Coastline Management." February 2024. SAR applications for climate adaptation monitoring.

• GM Insights. "Satellite-Based Earth Observation Market Size & Share, 2034." Market analysis including technology adoption rates and AI integration statistics.