Offering Planet Labs PBC data to the scientific community

The German Space Agency at DLR would like to provide German research institutions and start-ups with access to novel commercial ‘New Space’ satellite data from Planet Labs for research and development purposes, as well as for teaching.

As part of a new contract between the space agency and Planet Labs, the following data/data packages will be available to authorised users for research purposes via the EO-Lab platform from February 2025:

• PlanetScope
• Planet Basemaps
• RapidEye archive of Germany

Currently, the datasets that have been acquired as part of the RapidEye Science Archive (RESA) and stored for scientific re-use are already available on EO-Lab.

Further information on all these datasets can be found in the corresponding portfolio entries on EO-Lab. We will inform you in detail about the exact access options.

In order to better control data retrieval, a call for applications for the use of PlanetScope data has been launched. We would like to thank you for your keen interest in our call. Applications totalling 700,000 km2 were selected and will now have access to PlanetScope data. All participants have been notified of the outcome of their application by email.

The Space Agency plans to launch a call for applications at least annually, to which eligible organisations can apply. You will be informed via our EO newsletter and the EO-Lab website. Projects focussing on sustainable development, environmental and climate policy and AI methods will be given priority. Data sets of selected applications will be stored on EO-Lab for reuse.

We would like to point out that the Satellite Based Crisis and Situation Service (SKD), based at the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), offers a broad portfolio of satellite image data and products. The service is aimed at federal research organisations with more than 50% federal participation. For further information, please contact the SKD (skd@bkg.bund.de).