Planet the leading geospatial data and analytics company, has signed a deal with the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) an agency under Thailand's Ministry of Science and Technology, to provide satellite imagery to enable frequent monitoring in the country.
Planet will provide GISTDA with Planet base maps over the country on a quarterly basis. These base maps will provision the government with the most recent and cloud-free imagery for use by several ministries, including Agriculture, Rural Development, and Water and Irrigation.
"With persistent monitoring and analysis from Planet, Thailand will gain unprecedented insights, which will guide national priorities like sustainability and resource management, urban planning, food security, and environmental stewardship, not only at a political level, but also grassroots level," said Kandasri Limpakom, Director of Business and Alliance Development Office. "This data will be instrumental as Thailand develops its remote sensing capabilities in the future. Working together, we will integrate the latest technology with local knowledge to enhance performance of national priorities."
"The partnership will bring significant social and economic benefits to the Thai community. Planet will add value to its daily imagery with computer vision and machine learning in collaboration with GISTDA," said Shankar Sivaprakasam, Vice President, APAC and Japan, at Planet. "Partnerships with national space agencies have the power to usher the respective countries into the intelligent economy via space and big data."
Thailand has increased its investment in its space program, particularly with plans to develop Earth observation capabilities. Until these satellites are operational, Planet's daily data will enable them to get seasonal base maps that are accurate and analysis-ready.