Space Technologies for the Benefit of Human Society and Earth

When discussing the advancement of space science and space technology, most people instinctively think about deep space flights, lunar stations, and thrilling outer space adventures. The fact is that the majority of the human technology in space, which consists of interconnected satellites, points towards Earth, and is used to provide services for and fulfil the goals of people on planet Earth. Over the next decade, there will be an increased need for innovative Earth information systems to support the international space community's efforts to provide a robust infrastructure. This book describes some of the most important applications being developed, along with the space infrastructure upgrades being implemented to support them. It also provides a comprehensive review of how space technology can be used to resolve fundamental environmental, technological, and humanitarian challenges that we are experiencing on our planet. Finally, the book demonstrates to the IT and business communities how space technology can be incorporated into terrestrial IT applications to facilitate decision-making.