Array Labs and Esper Satellite Imagery will co-enrich imagery to deliver a real-time, data-rich 3D map of Earth. Together, the two are committed to providing advanced, actionable, and affordable geospatial products to customers, driving growth in the commercial and government sectors alike.
Palo Alto, California, and Melbourne, Australia, March 13, 2024 – Array Labs and Esper Satellite Imagery today announced a strategic partnership to co-enrich each other's products, creating a powerful, one-of-a-kind dataset that combines high-resolution 3D with cutting-edge hyperspectral. The co-enrichment commitment allows both companies to provide even more value to their respective customers and markets.
Under the terms of this agreement, users of Esper’s low-cost, extended-spectrum hyperspectral satellite imaging platform will be able to receive combined high-resolution 3D data. Similarly, Array’s customers will be able to combine and receive hyperspectral imagery with their 3D data purchases or subscriptions.
This first-of-its-kind collaboration will empower customers to unlock previously unattainable insights, as they gain access to a comprehensive, multidimensional view of the Earth’s surface. By fusing Array Labs’ centimeter-level 3D data with Esper’s rich hyperspectral imagery, customers will not only be able to measure volumetric changes at scale, but also identify the precise materials driving those changes.
The impact of this partnership will be felt across sectors:
- Energy and mining customers will be able to optimize operations; monitor infrastructure; and discover new exploration opportunities.
- Defense users will gain a powerful edge in identifying and analyzing objects of interest, with a new level of situational awareness.
- Environmental organizations and researchers will unlock a new tool to understand and protect our planet, using the multifaceted dataset to monitor ecosystems and track point-source emissions.
BUILDING A REAL-TIME, DATA-RICH 3D MAP OF EARTH
Array’s constellation, consisting of dozens of miniaturized, cost-effective radar satellites, is set to deliver a view of Earth in intricate 3D, with details down to the centimeter and unprecedented revisit rates. Meanwhile, Esper’s highly unique hyperspectral imagers capture up to 217 spectral bands at a remarkable 6-meter resolution, revisiting every corner of the globe every 10 days.
Esper launched its first spacecraft – Over the Rainbow – last week aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-10 mission, with just under $1 million in pre-seed funding, the company told TechCrunch. Array Labs can confirm it will be launching its first three demonstrators – Kaladin, Rock, and Lopin – on Transporter-11 in just a few months. Around the same time, Esper will launch its second demonstrator with India’s ISRO.
"Esper provides an immense spectral range not provided by others, very frequent revisit, and shares our passion for bringing high-value data from space in a highly affordable manner," said Array Labs CEO Andrew Peterson. "To our knowledge, this will be the first time 3D and hyperspectral imaging are combined and delivered from space for commercial use."
"Esper and Array share the same ideology of launching with as low of a cost and as quickly as possible that challenges a lot of the status quo in the Earth Observation industry,” said Esper CEO Shoaib Iqbal. “This partnership further cements that, with a focus on the value both our companies can deliver together to solve customer problems."
Together, Array Labs and Esper Satellite Imagery are committed to delivering the most advanced, actionable, and affordable geospatial products to customers, driving growth and innovation in the commercial and government sectors alike.
About Array Labs
Array Labs is creating the first living, breathing 3D map of Earth, by building and flying orbital rings of tiny, cheap radar cubesats. Array’s first orbital ring will be the largest space-based sensor ever built, with continental-scale coverage footprints, two-week Earth remaps at launch, and native collection of very high-resolution 3D imagery (20cm x 20cm x 5cm). Array’s ambition is to scale to multiple space swarms and sub-daily remaps, providing a never-before-seen, near-real-time 3D view of our planet, delivered by space systems with far greater cost efficiencies than conventional constellations flying today.
About Esper Satellite Imagery
Esper is a hyperspectral imaging satellite constellation and data platform that is saving the planet through actionable imaging data for agriculture, cleantech, carbon capture, and environmental monitoring. Founded by Shoaib Iqbal (776 Climate Fellow) and Joey Lorenczak, Esper has raised $1M in pre-seed funding led by Stellar Ventures, with participation from Day One Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures, Techstars, and others. Esper enables businesses to identify granular chemical composition of any location on earth, despite weather and obfuscations, for as low as $1.50 per square kilometer. Having launched its first space-based sensor in Q1 2024, Esper is on track to achieve worldwide coverage by 2027, with over $100M in LOIs already secured.
Array Labs Press Contact
Ryan Duffy
Head of Commercial BD
ryan@arraylabs.io
Esper Satellite Imagery Press Contact
Kristine Co
Marketing Manager
kristine@espersatellites.co