Tags: Satellite Imagery, Earth Observation, NASA, NOAA
Publication: TalkingPointsMemo.com
Publication Date: 12/05/2012

Screenshot of MapBox Satellite that illustrates how satellite imagery from NASA, USGS and USDA can be customizable through its platform. Image credit: MapBox

Washington, D.C.-based company MapBox launched MapBox Satellite, a new addition to its customizable maps for users and businesses. The service adds a satellite imagery layer to the maps giving customers the option to have real images instead of a simple street map.

MapBox is using NASA and USGS public domain imagery, mostly collected through the Landsat satellites. Additionally, the company is also using imagery from USDA‘s National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP), originally set up to keep track of crop levels across the U.S.

The company, which launched in 2010, is the provider of maps for customers such as Foursquare, Pew Research, and NPR, for which it uses free map data from OpenStreetMap. Thus, MapBox’s primary data is all coming from free sources, but the company is in charge of making those maps fit for its platform and customizable through a user-friendly platform.

MapBox explained that currently, the satellite imagery offered has a low zoom resolution. However, the company expects to increase the zoom levels next year. Landsat satellite imagery supports zoom resolution to approximately 100 feet and NIAP to approximately 3.3 feet.

In the future, the company plans to add High-Resolution Orthoimagery from agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This imagery is among the highest in resolution available; it supports zoom resolution to almost 1 foot.

MapBox Satellite is only available through the company’s paid service plans.

 Full story