A satellite developed by US company NanoAvionics has been given the monumental task of mapping a combined total of 51 billion hectares of the Earth's surface in what it claims is the world's first biodiversity observation performed from space.
A NanoAvionics microsatellite in orbit. Credit: NanoAvionics
The company has been contracted by Chilean startup Lemu, an atlas of the Earth's biosphere set up by Odd Industries, looking to gain a greater understanding of the world's ecosystems in a bid to up conservation efforts.
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Chile's first private satellite, dubbed the "Lemu Nge", based on the Mapudungun language spoken by the native Mapuche people, is a 6U microsatellite around the size of a shoebox set to collect hyperspectral imaging data - similar to that used in topographical mapping - which Limu hopes can make conservation efforts more profitable.
The camera was supplied by South African developer Simera. The company claims the camera allows for the segmentation of land cover and vegetation biodiversity at "20x the current resolution".
The satellite will start by measuring and tracking the value of the world's forests, which cover four billion hectares, or around 31% of the Earth's land surface, which it will achieve by flying in an orbit similar to the sun, revisiting locations every one-to-seven days to remap and provide images for Lemu's atlas.
The earth's surface, including oceans, comes to around 12 billion hectares, but repeated revisits to locations means the satellite could provide enough data to cover the world several times over.
“To solve the global climate crises we need to increase and succeed with the conservation efforts across the world", Lemu CEO Leo Prieto said.
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"We need to entice more organisations by finding a way that also allows them to generate profit. Through Lemu, we can provide the required data and certainty they need. The mission is part of Lemu’s biosphere atlas and our ‘Space to Soil’ strategy to make the conservation and restoration of ecosystems the best possible investment and reverse the global environmental crises", he added.
From the obtained geospatial data, supported by satellites from NASA and ESA as well as ethical-AI, Lemu is able to analyse, measure and evaluate information about ecosystems, starting with the world’s forests.
The company then assigns a value for each ecosystem - its own metric - known as a "Lemu index".
It claims the data could be vital in reducing deforestation and the degradation of ecosystems, while providing valuable data to reforestation and restoration efforts, while allowing the company to measure carbon sequestration through planting new forests and other natural ways of tackling greenhouse emissions.
The atlas will be made available to those interested in conservation globally.
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“Using a small satellite like this for our biodiversity atlas is the only efficient way to measure the entire surface of Earth... It was clear from the beginning though that in order to accelerate the development of our artificial vision models for Earth observation, we needed to have our own sensor in orbit", said Lemu co-founder Sangeetha Narayan.
The satellite is small because it allowed the company to minimise energy and emissions needed to get into orbit, while also being more powerful than anything currently at the company's disposal while also allowing for flexibility for the future, she added.
"The nanosatellites by NanoAvionics fit those specs perfectly and with a price tag that suits our budget. They provide everything, mission infrastructure, hardware, logistics and operations, to deliver the data we need on a plate", she added.
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