First Czech satellite with hyperspectral camera soon to be launched into orbit by SpaceX
The Czech satellite Troll can see chlorophyll in plants, pollution in rivers and nutrients in the soil from space. Only the third of its kind anywhere in the world, the Czech-made satellite should be put into orbit this October by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.
The main thing that makes Troll special among the roughly seven thousand or so other satellites currently orbiting the Earth is the hyperspectral camera it is equipped with, that can photograph parts of the light spectrum invisible to the human eye.
Petr Kapoun, head of the Czech company TRL Space, which made the satellite, says that it is somewhat comparable to night vision:
“When you put on night vision goggles, suddenly you’re able to see the outline of a person in the dark and various objects. A hyperspectral camera is something similar, except it can also see through plants and tell what chemicals are inside, or if there are enough nutrients or water in the soil. It can see the chlorophyll inside plants, or diseases or fungi, which can affect the quality of crops and therefore agricultural production.”
Troll should therefore be useful in agriculture, as well as for environmental protection, as it can spot pollution in rivers and even see through forest canopies. Petr Kapoun gives a concrete example of an executive body that plans to use the photographs.
“The Czech Environmental Inspectorate will use the gathered data to monitor illegal landfills and waste dumps, even in forested areas because the satellite can see through the trees.”
The data could also be used by the military, for example when controlling borders or monitoring military buildings or vehicles.
The satellite will orbit the Earth between five and seven times a day and take a huge number of photographs during each orbit. In order to process such a huge volume of data effectively, it is equipped with an AI module that will evaluate and sort the photographs before sending them.
Michal Mičora, head of the TRL Space laboratory, explains.
“It always takes a picture of a strip roughly 120 kilometres wide. We have to calculate the area so we know precisely where the satellite is so we can tell it: ok, now start taking pictures. It only sends us photos of things we’re interested in, like rivers and waterways, and of those photos, it only sends us the ones that are high-quality, clear and sharp.”
Troll is the first Czech satellite with this type of camera and only the third worldwide, but TRL Space plans to send another nine similar satellites into space by 2030.
