Conceived from the company’s vision for the exploration and utilisation of asteroid resources, Ceres will leverage Planetary Resources’ Arkyd spacecraft to deliver affordable, on-demand Earth intelligence of natural resources on any spot on the planet.

While typical satellite imagery provides only a picture, Ceres will provide actionable data with higher spectral resolutions – going beyond what the human eye can see – by measuring thermographic properties and detecting the composition of materials on Earth’s surface. The midwave-infrared sensor is the first ever commercial capability from space to offer thermographic mapping and night-imaging, and the hyperspectral sensor includes an unprecedented 40 colour bands in the visible to near-infrared spectrum.

The imaging technology is integrated onto the Arkyd spacecraft and deployed as a constellation of 10 satellites in low-Earth orbit. The constellation will provide global monitoring capability to benefit multiple industries including agriculture, mining, oil and gas, water quality, financial intelligence and forestry. Ceres can identify energy and mineral resources, and monitor pipelines and remote infrastructure. The system can also track toxic algae blooms, monitor global water quality and enable the detection of wildfires in their earliest stages.

“As we continue toward our vision of the expansion of humanity and our economy into the Solar System, our team has been working on the critical technologies required to detect and identify the most commercially viable near-Earth asteroids and their resources,” said Chris Lewicki, president and CEO, Planetary Resources.

“To characterise these resources, it required more than just a picture, and our team has developed advanced spectral sensors to serve this need.  We have also created new technologies for onboard computing, low-cost space platforms, and are now applying these transformative technologies in additional markets.”