A signal is a form of information or message conveyed from one point to another, often to trigger a response. It can be physical, like sound or light, or abstract, like symbols or codes. Signals enable communication, coordination, and control in humans, animals, machines, and natural systems. In remote sensing, a signal is the electromagnetic radiation or energy reflected, emitted, or scattered from the Earth’s surface or atmosphere. Sensors detect these signals, which carry information about objects, materials, or conditions, enabling environmental monitoring and analysis. The same imaginal technologies that enable industrialised capitalism to accelerate extraction, are also the ones used to detect the transformations of the Earth System. The Earth is a sensorium: it emits signals, and records back into all forms of life the perturbations of the technosphere, which is only visible from within.
ESA - Earth Observation
Copernicus
European Space Agency
Earth Observation data has grown in importance as more and more international and national agencies recognise the many uses to which it can be put. Satellites for Earth observation keep a constant watch over the Earth and the data they provide help to safeguard the planet in which we live.