Innovation in satellite remote sensing
Estellus is a service company in atmospheric and environmental science. Its main activity concerns the processing of satellite data. It promotes the research work carried out within the framework of the CNRS by the project leaders. The company is based on a communication of know-how granted by the CNRS. A partnership has been set up with the Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute and the Paris Observatory. In addition, Estellus is incubated at Agoranov and is a winner of the National competition for assistance in the creation of innovative technology companies in the “emerging” category.
Estellus’ activities concern:
- The development of inversion algorithms for satellite observations for a wide range of frequencies (visible, infrared, microwave) in passive and active modes (radiometry and radar), with a particular interest in multi-instrument analysis;
- The production of satellite products for meteorology and climatology (e.g. estimation of water vapor in the atmosphere, precipitation, soil moisture), in operational and semi-operational mode;
- The evaluation and interpretation of the atmospheric and surface products obtained, with the help of auxiliary data such as in situ measurements, outputs from meteorological or climatic models;
- Assistance in defining new instruments on board satellites by simulating the behavior of future instruments.
Applications include the atmosphere, the ocean and continental surfaces. The environmental variables to be diagnosed are numerous, the remote sensing techniques are multiple and the number of space instruments is ever-increasing. In addition, possibilities of expansion to planetology are also conceivable since the techniques are often similar.