Satellite Geography: Tomorrow's Perspective Today

Abstract

Orbiting some 450 miles above Earth, the LANDSAT satellites send back images of the planet every eighteen days. In 1985, France will launch its own satellite, SPOT, and even greater insights from space will be available for researchers familiar with these infrared images. Using a selective part of the electromagnetic spectrum, a multitude of earth images provide the user with remotely sensed data to analyze at selected time intervals. Investigations of satellite images can follow two directions: simple hard copy investigation or digital image processing. In the near future, the Space Shuttle will carry aloft an infrared radiometer, which when combined with LANDSAT and SPOT earth images, will allow scientists to locate mineral deposits and fuel resources from space. Satellite image users trained in basic interpretative techniques will thus be better able to handle the volume of earth image views that will increase in the coming years. This reality of learning from above is easily transferred to a classroom, enhancing our geographic knowledge of the planet well beyond a mere regurgitation of place locations. For classroom learning, satellite geography must be implemented to give today's student the ability and insights to monitor future earth conditions intelligently in an increasingly complex technological society. Remotely sensed data, in whatever form, can be integrated and practically applied to all levels of the curriculum.