E-Paper
Future of agriculture, insurance, and urban planning run through space
This article is authored by Pranit Mehta, co-founder, GalaxEye.
A farmer deciding when to irrigate a field, an insurance company assessing flood damage, and a city planner managing urban expansion may seem to operate in entirely different worlds. Yet they all depend on the same thing: accurate and timely information about what is happening on the ground.
For decades, obtaining that information relied on field surveys, manual inspections, local reporting, and other human-intensive processes. While effective in specific situations, these approaches are often slow, expensive, and difficult to scale. As climate events become more frequent, populations continue to grow, and economies become increasingly interconnected, organisations can no longer afford to make decisions based on incomplete or outdated information.
The challenge today is not a lack of data. It is access to reliable data, consistently and at scale. This is why space-based Earth observation is becoming an increasingly important source of intelligence for industries as diverse as agriculture, insurance, and urban planning.
Traditional methods of information gathering continue to play an important role. Ground surveys provide valuable local insights, while drones offer extremely high-resolution views of specific areas. However, both have inherent limitations. Surveys require significant manpower and time, while drones must be physically deployed, are constrained by regulations, and are often affected by weather conditions.
These limitations become particularly apparent during disasters. Following a flood, cyclone, wildfire, or major storm, information is needed urgently. Yet these are often the same conditions that prevent field teams from reaching affected areas or make drone operations difficult. The result is a gap between when information is needed and when it can realistically be collected.
Space-based observation helps bridge that gap.
Unlike most terrestrial methods, satellites provide a persistent and systematic view of the Earth. They do not require deployment to individual locations, are unaffected by damaged roads or inaccessible terrain, and can monitor vast regions simultaneously. More importantly, they provide a consistent stream of information that enables organisations to move from reactive decision-making to proactive planning.
In agriculture, reliable information can have a direct impact on productivity and resilience. Farmers, agribusinesses, and governments need visibility into crop health, water stress, acreage, and seasonal conditions across large geographic areas. Rather than relying solely on periodic field visits, satellite-derived insights can help identify emerging issues earlier, support yield forecasting, and improve resource allocation.
The insurance sector faces a similar challenge. At its core, insurance is an information business. Accurate assessment of risk determines everything from premium pricing to claims processing.
Space-based intelligence enables insurers to monitor flood-prone regions, assess exposure, verify claims, and rapidly evaluate damage following natural disasters. Access to reliable and objective information allows insurers to respond faster and make more informed decisions, ultimately benefiting policyholders as well.
Urban planning presents another compelling example. Cities are expanding at unprecedented rates, often faster than traditional planning processes can track. Infrastructure development, land-use changes, transportation networks, environmental compliance, and disaster preparedness all depend on current and accurate information. Satellite data provides planners with a continuously updated perspective of urban growth, helping cities become more efficient, resilient, and responsive to changing needs.
What makes this transformation particularly significant is that space technology itself is evolving rapidly.
For many years, Earth observation primarily relied on optical satellites, which function much like cameras in space. These systems produce intuitive, visually rich imagery that is easy to interpret. However, they have an important limitation: They cannot see through clouds, smoke, haze, or darkness. To overcome these challenges, the industry increasingly adopted Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology. Unlike optical systems, SAR uses radar signals to image the Earth's surface, enabling observations day or night and through clouds, smoke, and adverse weather conditions.
Today, the industry is moving toward the next phase of innovation: Combining multiple sensing technologies to create more comprehensive and actionable intelligence. By integrating the intuitive visual context of optical imagery with the all-weather availability of radar data, emerging approaches aim to provide a more complete understanding of conditions on the ground.
At the same time, several broader trends are accelerating adoption. Launch costs have fallen significantly, making space more accessible than ever before. The number of satellites in orbit continues to grow, increasing the frequency with which locations can be monitored. Advances in Artificial Intelligence and geospatial analytics are further enhancing the value of satellite data by transforming raw imagery into operational intelligence. The result is that space is no longer viewed solely as a domain for exploration or scientific discovery. It is increasingly becoming critical infrastructure for decision-making on Earth.
The organisations that succeed in the coming decade will be those that can see changes earlier, understand risks faster, and respond more effectively. Whether in agriculture, insurance, or urban planning, reliable information is becoming a competitive advantage. Ultimately, the value of space technology lies not in the satellites themselves, but in the decisions they enable. By helping industries move from reactive responses to proactive action, space is quietly becoming one of the most important foundations of a more resilient, efficient, and informed future.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Pranit Mehta, co-founder, GalaxEye.
