Google’s Earth Engine will finally be accessible to commercial and government entities worldwide after a decade of being available only to researchers, academics and non-profit organisations. 

The search engine giant said in a statement on June 27, 2022 that the move was made after growing demand from companies and governments that want to use the Earth Engine to step up their sustainability endeavours. 

The Earth Engine continuously collects image data from a host of satellites deployed in orbit around Earth, as well as from other image sources, creating a nearly always live feed of topographical data to those with access. It is the world’s largest, publicly hosted collection of observational data of the planet. 

Using the data from their engine and integrating it with cloud computing platforms that track geospatial changes can offer up key insights on things like climate data, help assess natural disasters as well as disease management across regions, to name a few things. Google says that this is the kind of functionality that companies and governments can leverage to keep track of their own natural areas. 

Also Read: China aggressively plans to return samples from the Red Planet to Earth

The Earth Engine has already been tested in a pilot access project with SC Johnson, a US-based consumer chemicals company. They have used the engine to develop models that predict mosquito populations around the world. Using that model in combination with available breeding patterns allows the company to see where there might be a possible spurt in increase in population which would also help them see where the next mosquito-based disease might hit. 

Indian startups are likely to make full use of the availability of the Earth Engine. Companies  like Pixxel, a space-based startup launched their “Shakuntala” satellite this year in April aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. The company, which uses their satellites for hyperspectral imagery will be offering up their services for insights on sustainability projects, forest cover tracking and even defensive monitoring. 

For now, Google has said that it will continue to offer up the Earth Engine to academics and non-profits for zero cost, though that has the potential to change in the future.