Open Cosmos has announced that its two satellites, MANTIS and PLATERO, have successfully reached orbit after being launched as part of the SpaceX Transporter-9 mission at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
These launches are a significant milestone for Open Cosmos as both satellites will join MENUT, which was launched earlier this year, as part of the OpenConstellation. OpenConstellation is a global, shared Earth Observation (EO) satellite infrastructure that is built and managed by Open Cosmos. The data collected from these satellites can be accessed by organizations, businesses, and governments of all sizes to address challenges related to the climate crisis, energy, natural resources, and more. Open Cosmos aims to democratize access to critical space data while ensuring high levels of governance and security.
PLATERO is equipped with EO, IoT, and AI onboard processing capabilities. It has been commissioned by the Junta de Andalucia through the Andalusian Agricultural and Fisheries Management Agency (AGAPA). The purpose of this satellite is to monitor biodiversity, desertification, emergencies such as wildfires or floods, and the impact of farming on the environment. The data gathered by PLATERO will inform future policies on environmental preservation.
MANTIS is the first satellite launched as part of the ESA InCubed program, which is supported by the UK Space Agency. It hosts an innovative multispectral, high-resolution optical payload for EO from Satlantis. Additionally, it carries a high-performance and reconfigurable processing unit made by Ubotica, aimed at leveraging the power of AI to derive insights onboard. The EO data from MANTIS will address challenges in the energy and mining sector related to accessibility and periodicity. It will also be applied to other applications such as climate emergency monitoring and biodiversity conservation.
The data collected by both satellites will be fed into DataCosmos, the cloud-based data and insights platform developed by Open Cosmos. This platform transforms satellite imagery into actionable intelligence using algorithms, enabling businesses and groups to address environmental challenges more effectively.
The successful launch of MANTIS and PLATERO has been praised by Rafel Jorda Siquier, the Founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, and Simonetta Cheli, the Director of Earth Observation Programs at ESA. Harshbir Sangha, the Missions and Capabilities Delivery Director at the UK Space Agency, emphasized the importance of Earth observation from space in monitoring climate change, mapping the environment, and discovering new resources in a sustainable manner. The UK Space Agency is proud to have supported this fully commercial mission, which focuses on energy and mining and contributes to the growth of the small satellite market in the UK.