Fifty Years of Earth-observation Satellites

摘要

The former Soviet Union's launch of the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, heralded the era of satellite remote sensing. Since that epic moment on October 4,1957, hundreds of Earth-observing satellites have followed. Half a century of imagery has provided both iconic views and unprecedented scientific insights. The science of satellite remote sensing integrates the understanding, interpretation and establishment of relations between natural phenomena and measurements of electromagnetic energy that is either emitted or reflected from the Earth's surface or its atmosphere.