ITP Techblog

Rocket Lab may be regularly launching satellites into space from the Mahia Peninsula, but we don’t yet have New Zealand-made satellites trained on our own country.

When it comes to Earth observation imagery, we rely on an ecosystem of global satellite imagery and data providers. Wellington-based Critchlow Geospatial aims to make all of that commercially available data easier to access with New Zealand’s first satellite imagery marketplace.

The marketplace features not just optical imagery, but multi and hyper-spectral capabilities that can distinguish between materials on the Earth’s surface, and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that can penetrate through clouds, smoke and darkness of night, according to Critchlow.

A one-stop shop for satellite imagery and derived data.

The growing availability of remote sensing technologies mounted on satellites is offering a plethora of new tools and insights to help manage the natural and manmade environment on Earth.

Common uses of Earth observation imagery include monitoring land use changes, soil moisture, crisis management in the wake of natural disasters and maritime surveillance to spot illegal fishing fleets.

New Zealand has committed $27 million in funding to MethaneSAT, a satellite designed to detect methane leaks from gas and oil industry pipelines and industrial agriculture sites around the world. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. While satellite imagery won’t help solve our own methane problem, which relates to our cow and sheep herds, pinpointing large sources of methane emissions with specialist satellite-mounted cameras will assist global efforts to target local emissions mitigation efforts.

Critchlow has similar emissions-reduction purposes in mind for customers looking to use its satellite imagery marketplace.

“Earth observation via satellite imagery and its derived data is at the forefront of green policy and the shift to low carbon activity and emissions reduction,” says Critchlow Geospatial Group Managing Director, Steve Critchlow.

“For any organisation that is serious about reducing their carbon footprint, using satellite imagery lessens the reliance on commissioning polluting aircraft for aerial imagery, as well as the requirement for many physical site visits. As part of a low carbon strategy, it will help organisations reduce their emissions and enable them to achieve their Net Zero targets much more expediently.”

International providers

Existing providers to the marketplace include an international roster of satellite imagery and data providers such as Maxar, NTT Data, Pixxel, SI Imaging, Head Aerospace, Capella Space, Satellogic and SpaceWill.

Critchlow says the marketplace is a one-stop shop for next-generation satellite imagery and derived data that features a mapping interface allowing users to see exactly what imaging and data layers are available for New Zealand and giving an instant indication of the pricing.