Earth observation
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In aviation and space travel, earth observation is understood to be the observation of the earth's surface and / or the earth's atmosphere from a great height. The observation also includes technical procedures for obtaining information (e.g. radar or infrared devices).
Earth observation is used to obtain data, for example, for geodesy , meteorology , weather forecasting , in climate research for monitoring marine and air pollution, for disaster prevention, but also for spatial and landscape planning through the observation of land use, road traffic and noise mapping. Even spy satellites are instruments for Earth observation.
A first approach to the technical implementation was the earth observation rocket , patented in 1903 for Alfred Maul . Today, however, earth observation satellites are used almost exclusively , especially airplanes in the field of atmospheric research . One program for global cooperation in earth observation is the Global Earth Observing System of Systems , which was adopted by around 40 countries in Brussels in 2005.