Satellite Basics
This term describes the frequency with which a satellite revisits the same area on Earth.
What is temporal resolution?
This visible color of light has the shortest wavelength in the visible spectrum.
What is violet/purple?
Launched in 1972, this NASA/USGS program is the longest-running Earth observation satellite system.
What is Landsat?
During this type of natural disaster, remote sensing is crucial for mapping flood extent and identifying isolated communities.
What are floods?
Remote sensing helps track this environmental concern by measuring changes in polar ice caps and mountain glaciers.
What is climate change?
These satellites remain fixed above a specific location on Earth, providing continuous monitoring of one region.
What are geostationary satellites?
This type of radiation, with wavelengths between visible light and microwaves, is excellent for detecting heat signatures.
What is infrared radiation?
Attack Question! This European Space Agency program provides free, open data through its series of Sentinel satellites.
What is Copernicus?
After earthquakes, this synthetic aperture radar technique helps identify ground displacement that may be invisible to optical sensors.
What is InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar)?
In agriculture, remote sensing helps farmers practice this type of management that applies resources at variable rates across fields based on plant needs.
What is precision agriculture?
Attack Question! These satellites circle Earth from pole to pole, scanning the entire planet as it rotates beneath them.
What are polar-orbiting satellites?
This vegetation index, commonly abbreviated as NDVI, uses the difference between near-infrared and red light reflectance to assess plant health.
What is Normalized Difference Vegetation Index?
This NASA instrument provides daily global coverage for environmental monitoring and has been deployed on both the Terra and Aqua satellites.
What is MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)?
This advantage of remote sensing in disaster response refers to its ability to provide data without placing assessment personnel in dangerous conditions.
What is safety?
Urban planners use remote sensing to monitor this phenomenon where cities experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas.
What is urban heat island effect?
This type of resolution refers to the sensitivity to differences in energy levels in satellite imagery, typically measured in "bit depth."
What is radiometric resolution?
This type of remote sensing can penetrate clouds and work day or night because it uses wavelengths between 1 millimeter and 1 meter.
What is microwave/radar remote sensing?
This commercial company operates a constellation of small satellites that can image the entire Earth's landmass daily.
What is Planet?
This type of specialized map created from remote sensing data after disasters shows which transportation routes remain accessible for aid delivery.
What is a road network accessibility analysis/map?
This illegal activity in forests can be detected by comparing satellite images over time to identify unexpected canopy loss.
What is deforestation/illegal logging?
This phenomenon occurs when a satellite's orbit deteriorates due to atmospheric drag, necessitating periodic adjustments to maintain altitude.
What is orbital decay?
This specialized technique uses the phase difference between two radar images to detect surface deformations as small as a few centimeters.
What is SAR interferometry (or InSAR)?
This joint NASA-CNES mission launched in 2018 uses radar to measure sea surface height with unprecedented accuracy.
What is Jason-3?
During the 2010 Haiti earthquake response, this international charter was activated to provide emergency satellite imagery to support humanitarian efforts.
What is the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters?
Archeologists use this specialized type of LiDAR that can penetrate vegetation to reveal hidden ruins and ancient landscapes beneath forest canopies.
What is canopy-penetrating LiDAR?