Planet Labs
Planet operates the largest fleet of Earth-imaging satellites, capturing the entire landmass daily and turning it into analysis-ready data, including dedicated forest carbon and canopy products.
Planet LabsInside Planet Labs
Planet runs PlanetScope (≈3m, daily, 8-band) for change detection and SkySat (≈50cm) for tasking-grade verification, alongside the next-generation Pelican and Tanager hyperspectral satellites.
On top of the imagery it sells Planetary Variables, including Forest Carbon Diligence (30m canopy height, cover and above-ground carbon, annual, back to 2013) and a 3m quarterly Forest Carbon Monitoring product.
Everything is delivered through the Planet Insights Platform with mature Data, Orders, Tasking and Subscriptions APIs, and the Sentinel Hub processing layer Planet now owns.
The default daily forest-change and deforestation layer for nature-based MRV, already the data backbone of Global Forest Watch and most carbon-monitoring workflows. Strong tropical coverage.
Recent developments
- Sep 2024Launched the world’s first global 3m Forest Carbon Monitoring product (quarterly, back to 2021).
- Jan 2025NICFI free tropical basemap contract ended; the 2015–2025 archive moved to Planet’s paid platform.
Using Planet Labs in a project
The provider’s own site holds its current capabilities, access terms and documentation. Read them before selecting the tool or planning an integration.