Start here · Essential guide
Space-Based Solar Power: A Renewable Energy Solution
Orbital solar power would collect sunlight above the atmosphere and beam the energy to Earth. Here is how the idea works, why it appeals, and what remains unproven.
Space and Science
How satellites, orbital power and space farming help our planet.
Start here · Essential guide
Orbital solar power would collect sunlight above the atmosphere and beam the energy to Earth. Here is how the idea works, why it appeals, and what remains unproven.
How would energy from orbit reach the ground? A look at microwave and laser beaming, receiving antennas, efficiency losses and the safety questions around them.
Solar power satellites face steep engineering and cost hurdles. This guide covers size, launch needs, assembly, upkeep and whether they can be called sustainable.
How do plants grow without gravity? Learn how crops are grown aboard space stations, the challenges of microgravity and what researchers learn from the results.
How crews on long missions might feed themselves with closed-loop systems, and how spaceflight food is stored, packaged and prepared along the way.
How hydroponics, controlled lighting and tight resource recycling developed for spaceflight could inform more efficient indoor farming here on Earth.
How satellite imagery helps responders map floods, wildfires and earthquake damage, and where its limits lie, from cloud cover to revisit times.
An introduction to remote sensing: how sensors in orbit measure land use, forests and growth patterns, and how planners use that data to guide development.
How satellites track sea level, sea ice, ice sheets and the atmosphere over long periods, and why steady, consistent measurements matter for planning.
How satellites detect air pollution, deforestation and illegal activity such as unauthorized mining or fishing, and how the data supports protection policy.
A plain list of the potential advantages of collecting solar energy in orbit, such as near-constant sunlight, plus the honest open questions about cost and delivery.
A tour of the instruments on climate satellites that track temperature, ice and greenhouse gases over decades, and how future missions may build on them.
How satellite records feed into climate models, how scientists test those models against observations, and what better data might mean for projections.
How long-term satellite data can inform planning, adaptation choices and the tracking of sustainability goals, with attention to limits and fair access.
The big picture of why watching the planet from orbit matters, from weather and climate science to farming, city planning and emergency management.
How environmental monitoring from orbit helps spot deforestation, wildfires, algae blooms and land-use change, and why a view from above is hard to replace.
How satellites observe lakes, rivers, snowpack and groundwater, and how that information helps authorities make decisions about water supply.
How orbital data supports water conservation, from estimating irrigation use and crop water demand to spotting drought stress in fields and wetlands.
How satellite records support long-range water security and drought planning, including what early warning systems use and where their limits lie.
How decades of satellite measurements have built a long climate record, why overlap and calibration matter, and what the record can and cannot show.
How satellites track effects such as shrinking glaciers and ice sheets, rising seas and shifting vegetation, and why combining methods improves confidence.
How scientists use satellite data to separate natural cycles such as El Nino and La Nina from long-term trends, and why that distinction is difficult.
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