Weekly GEOINT Community News

Planet to Acquire Terra Bella

Commercial remote sensing company Planet announced last week its intent to acquire Terra Bella from Google, reports Space News. According to the article, Planet will obtain Terra Bella’s business, including its constellation of seven SkySat satellites. Additionally, Google will sign a multi-year data contract with Planet and a number of Terra Bella employees will join Planet. Read more about the acquisition in Planet’s blog post.

DigitalGlobe Creates Open Data Program

Last week, DigitalGlobe launched its Open Data Program with a special focus on disaster response. According to the company blog, DigitalGlobe will release openly licensed pre- and post-event imagery for select natural disasters and its crowsourcing platform Tomnod will prioritize micro-tasking to expedite damage assessments. Data from previous disaster events are now available on the Open Data Program site, and more data will be added as new incidents occur.

XpressSAR Selects Panaxx Corporation as Japan Partner

Satellite operator XpressSAR named Tokyo’s Panaxx Corporation as its exclusive agent in Japan to engage in business discussions and distribute products and services. According to the press release, Panaxx’s established geospatial division will help grow the market for XpressSAR data and services in Japan and throughout all of Asia.

Esri Publishes Book on Disease Mapping

The new edition of “Cartographies of Disease: Maps, Mapping, and Medicine” from Esri is now available for purchase. The book chronicles the history of using maps to help unlock the mysteries behind the cause and spread of diseases such as cholera, yellow fever, and Ebola. The book was originally published in 2005. This expanded edition adds new material to offer deeper understanding of medical mapping from the 7^th through 21^st centuries.

Photo Credit: Terra Bella