PRODUCT UPDATES

Starting today you can order Planet Basemaps through the Orders API. This release provides several new tools while also simplifying the process for ordering Basemaps from Planet.  If you are familiar with ordering scenes from the Orders API, you will be familiar with this new functionality for Planet Basemaps. Here is a quick highlight of what’s new:Order using an area of interest (AOI)You can now order a Basemap over an AOI by providing a GeoJSON file.  This makes it easier to order imagery over the areas that you are focused on by using standard geospatial data formats. It is no longer required to order by specifying Planet quad IDs.Process Basemaps with New ToolsYou now have access to the tools in the Orders API that process Basemaps into ready-to-use formats.  For example, to calculate indices like NDVI in a single API call, you can clip images to an AOI, merge all of the quads into a single image, and perform band math.Deliver to Cloud StorageRather than downloading a Basemap and then re-uploading it to the cloud, you can deliver orders directly to an AWS, Azure, or GCP cloud storage destination.Note: For NICFI Basemaps users, NICFI Basemaps can not be ordered with the Orders API. The NICFI DATA Program User Guide provides information on how to access NICFI Basemaps.Learn more at the Planet Developer Center.  Post any questions you have in the comments!

We have released Planet Add-in for ArcGIS Pro, Version 3.0.  Version 3.0 is the first version that is compatible with ArcGIS Pro 3.x. There are also additional features for working with STAC metadata and viewing the size of an area-of-interest (AOI) when searching for images and Basemaps.Support for ArcGIS Pro Version 3.0The add-in now supports ArcGIS 3.x so you can upgrade to the latest version.  If you still need to use an older version of ArcGIS Pro 2.x, we also have an updated 2.x version.Ordering with STAC MetadataYou can now place an order and specify to have STAC metadata included.  When you add imagery to the map, the spectral bands are now assigned to the correct color channels for a true color visualization.View Area-of-Interest (AOI) Size When SearchingWhile you are searching for imagery and Basemaps, the size of the AOI is now listed in the search panel.  This helps to know how much imagery is being ordered so you can estimate how it impacts your usage quota.Download the most recent version of the Planet Add-in for ArcGIS Pro!

Planet is excited to announce new details of our hyperspectral constellation, which is being brought to market through a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership with the Carbon Mapper Coalition. This future hyperspectral satellites will be named Tanager, a colorful and visually diverse family of birds in Central and South America, and are designed to deliver hyperspectral data at a resolution of 30 meters with over 400 spectral bands. With plans to launch the first two Tanager satellites in 2023, hyperspectral data holds immense potential to support applications in industries like agriculture, defense & intelligence, energy, civil government, and mining. The genesis of the Carbon Mapper initiative came from a need to use high quality hyperspectral data to locate methane point source emitters at the facility scale to support mitigation action. As part of the coalition, we remain committed to the public benefit mission of pinpointing, quantifying and tracking point-source methane and CO2 emissions, while also leveraging the technology’s other applications made possible with hyperspectral data to deliver additional value to its customers.  Click here for more information.

Tile View Search and Navigation EnhancementsPlanet is pleased to introduce enhancements to the Tile View Bundle experience to give you greater flexibility to explore Planet imagery without impacting your quota. Greater Flexibility to Search for ImageryWith this product release, Tiles are only counted against your quota once you have specified your area of interest (AOI) and selected an imagery product. A 2018 global reference image is provided when you first log in to Planet Explorer so you can navigate around the world to find your AOI without consuming any Tiles. Check Your Tile View QuotaYou can view what percent of your tile view quota has been used in the Account page at any time.Learn How to search for imagery in the Planet Explorer User Guide.Please reach out to Customer Success or contact Planet Technical Support with any questions.

Planet launched a microsite which introduces products and provides industry-specific case studies all in simplified Chinese. Click here to check it out!    

Last month Planet launched a microsite which introduces products and provides industry-specific case studies all in Japanese. Click here to check it out!

On July 13, Planet released its latest upgrades to the Tasking platform, accelerating order fulfillment. Task AggregationPlanet has introduced a new back-end task aggregation system which improves fulfillment rate and optimizes order delivery. Now, multiple point orders are collected together in a single SkySat pass, leading to faster access to the latest data for more customers. Though we are now combining multiple customer’s orders in one collection, you will still only be charged for 25 sq. km for your point orders. Higher Refresh for the SkySat ArchiveTo facilitate Task Aggregation and faster order fulfillment, all new SkySat Tasking imagery is now published by default to the SkySat Archive as soon as it is available. This means faster access to the most recent images in the SkySat Archive. How will this affect you as a Tasking Customer?1. As point collections are aggregated, Planet no longer guarantees North-South oriented directionality.2. There are new updates to the Tasking Dashboard User Interface.  Watch the video below for more in depth information! 

Earlier this year, we introduced a new item type – PSScene – that streamlines how you search and download your PlanetScope data.With the introduction of PSScene, we are moving forward with deprecating PSScene3Band and PSScene4Band item types on January 31, 2023. Following this date, Planet will no longer provide support for the associated item types.If you would like support from Planet to make the change, check out an upcoming workshop on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 to get guidance and get your questions answered.

On March 1st, 2022 we released an update to improve PlanetScope data quality available to all PlanetScope Monitoring, Archive, AUM, and Tile View customers! What’s new? We achieved near-daily global coverage of PlanetScope 8-band data Access to 8-band data through our APIs, Explorer, & GIS integrations at no additional cost Simplified discovery and download for PSScene  Key quality improvements to improve the consistency & reliability of the data See here for a video and more information!