EOMasters Newsletter #036
24/11/2024
Hello EO-Masters!
This time I have news about my new toolbox, the success of my Bluesky channel, my visit at Europe's largest B2B space event. But also, important new about the changes on how ESA is handling contract and about the launch of Sentinel-1C and other.
Now, let's head over to the news.
In this Issue:
EOMasters News
New Release of EOMasters Pro Toolbox
Success on Bluesky
Visit at the Space Tech Expo
EO and RS
Launch of Sentinel-1C Is Imminent
Discriminate Snow from Clouds with False-Colour Images
Detailed analysis of crops grown in Germany
Discriminate Snow from Clouds
Software, Tools and Services
ArcGIS CityEngine and the Latest Updates
2024 GDAL User Survey
Beyond EO
ESA Contracting Regulations Updated
EOMasters News
New Release of EOMasters Pro Toolbox
I proudly present the next big release of the EOMasters Pro Toolbox only 4 months after the first release. 🚀 🛰️🌍
It now includes
- Sentinel-2 Geometry Up-scaling
- Sentinel-2 5m Super-Resolution
- Sentinel-2 Surface Reflectance Normalisation
- ASTER L1T Reader
I won't go into detail here. If you are interested, please check out the articles in my blog.
Success on Bluesky
The reactivation of my BlueSky account was a gerat success, I haven't expected. Within 2 weeks it is now the account with the most followers. 🚀And the blue sky seems to be quite pleasant. Hopefully, it doesn't change over time. I don't regret to leave X behind. I was surprised to see that more than 50% of my followers were actually bots when I checked the list. And this despite the fact that I usually blocked them when they followed me, and I suspected that they were fake accounts.
You should check you followers too and/or switch to the Bluesky at all. Here some links to start.
Visit at the Space Tech Expo
Last week I visited the Space Tech Expo. It is Europe's largest B2B space event. Was it worth it?
The event addresses a totally different branch of remote sensing than I usually sit on, but I knew that. So, the benefit for me was quite limited. At least I saw some good presentations, and it was a fun day, different from usual business days. It's a great meeting for anyone involved in technical remote sensing and space technology in general.
EO and RS News
Launch of Sentinel-1C Is Imminent
Credit: ESA
03 December 2024
That's the date when Sentinel-1C shall launch. 🚀
Not long anymore. 👏
After more than a month of preparations at the spaceport, the latest 'flight readiness assessment', along with the fact that the Vega-C rocket is being readied, signalled approval to fuel the Sentinel-1C satellite.
Detailed analysis of crops grown in Germany
Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) used satellite data to map crop types and agricultural practices across Germany over 6 years.
The study identified 18 different crops, with wheat and maize being the most widely cultivated. There are notable regional differences in crop distribution, influenced by soil quality, climate, and historical factors.
The maps are used for monitoring agricultural practices, assessing climate change impacts, and developing adaptation strategies. The datasets are publicly accessible.
Discriminate Snow from Clouds
ESA talks in the article linked below, that false-colour images can help to discriminate snow from clouds.
But I'm surprised about the image. It seems only the right snow area is highlighted as snow. What about the snow in the centre of the image? Does this method fail here? Does anyone have an explanation? How could this be improved? Is the middle area not snow-covered?
Reply in the EOMasters Forum
Software, Tools and Services
ArcGIS CityEngine and the Latest Updates
Credits: esri - ArcGIS CityEngine
ArcGIS CityEngine introduces several enhancements and features to improve urban planning workflows in the latest update.
Visual CGA Editor: A streamlined interface for procedural modelling that simplifies creating and modifying rule-based designs.
Enhanced Material Library: Includes new material options and an improved browser for realistic visualizations.
Web Scene Sharing: Expanded capabilities to share 3D urban models as interactive web scenes, making collaboration and presentations more effective.
Omniverse Integration: Improved compatibility with NVIDIA Omniverse for advanced 3D visualization and rendering workflows.
Performance Updates: Various optimizations for rendering and usability, improving the overall efficiency of handling large-scale urban data.
I can't help, this reminds me of Cities: Skylines. 😄
Do you know it?
2024 GDAL User Survey
The GDAL project is collecting feedback to help focusing the activitiies. As a GDAL user you might like to support them and get a better piece of software in return.
Beyond EO
ESA Contracting Regulations Updated
Image by aymane jdidi from Pixabay
ESA Contracting Regulations were approved during the ESA Council in October 2024. These regulations will replace the current ESA Procurement Regulations starting 1 January 2025.
The new regulations include evolving methods of contracting, such as the introduction of Calls for Proposals without Procurement and the possibility to enter into Cooperative Agreements.
The European Space Agency is hosting an online seminar on 3 December 2024, from 10:00 to 11:30 CET to introduce the new ESA Contracting Regulations. Registration is open until 2 December 2024.
Newsletter Archive
For past editions of this newsletter, you can visit the archive.
That's it for this issue. I hope you enjoyed this collection of news. Stay tuned for the next edition, which will arrive in your inbox in about two weeks.
Tschüss and Goodbye!
Marco
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