The European Space Agency (ESA) is launching a new mission in the coming weeks called Φsat-1, which it says will “push the boundaries” of AI for Earth observation purposes.

Earth observation technologies are crucial for a wide range of applications including weather prediction, climate change monitoring and tracking natural disasters.

Thanks to new satellites and advanced sensors, the scale and quality of available Earth observation data has risen exponentially in the past decade. Now, the integration of AI could lead to even greater capabilities by allowing for more data to be processed quickly and accurately onboard the satellite itself.

ESA launched Ф-sat-1 in 2020 as an experiment to demonstrate how AI can be used in the field.

Φsat-2 is a dedicated AI mission that will fully explore the benefits and capabilities of utilising extended onboard processing.

Measuring just 22x10x33cm, Φsat-2 is equipped with a multispectral camera and powerful AI computer that analyses and processes imagery...