# Image Interpretability of nSight-1 Nanosatellite Imagery for Remote Sensing Applications
## 1 Introduction  
The use of miniaturized satellite platforms such as microsatellite and nanosatellites for earth imaging has been gaining momentum globally over the last decade [1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6]. Trends in miniaturization of low earth orbit earth observation satellites witnessed over the last few decades have been driven by universities, commercial satellite operators and space agencies that aim to reduce development cost, reduce launch overheads and scale down development time associated with large satellites such as Landsat, ENVISAT, and Sentinel missions. Traditional large earth observation satellites such as ENVISAT weighed as much as 7.9 megatonnes and NASA's TERRA mission weighed 5.2 megatonnes. Mass is a key determinant in the classification of satellites according to size. [PERSON] [7] outlines that satellites are usually classified as follows: large satellites (> 1000 kg), medium satellites (500-1000 kg), minisatellites (100-500 kg), microsatellites (10-100 kg), nanosatellites (1-10 kg), picosatellite (0.1-1 kg), and finito satellites (< 100 g). Small satellite missions are shifting the paradigm in earth observation because of their low development cost and short development time makes the development of imaging constellation feasible and mitigates the risk of single-point failures. Small satellite constellations enable more frequent revisit times for time-sensitive applications such as disaster management, crop monitoring, and other time series applications that require high temporal resolution [3; 6]. The concept of small satellites has also proven to be attractive due to the opportunities it provides for human capital development in the field of space science and technology and the partnerships forged between high-tech manufacturing small and medium enterprises, universities, and space agencies. Low cost miniaturized satellite architectures are increasingly proving to be ideal for technology demonstration and scientific experimentation. A trend analysis on civilian earth observation satellites reveals that earth observation spaceborne systems are increasingly moving towards the usage of cheaper miniaturized platforms that use commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components [8]. The study further alludes to the growing need for ownership of spaceborne systems by governments and satellite operators to enable greater control of technology and data flows, innovation, and education. The growth is small satellite development is driven by advancements in electronic and computer systems engineering, particularly miniaturization and quantum leaps in performance capability. The emergence of small launch providers on the market has increased low-cost launch opportunities [8; 9; 10]. The growth in small satellites has also been supported by the development of smaller and low-cost ground stations with rapid data dissemination mechanisms. Planet Labs have successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using smaller and cheaper satellites for operational and commercial earth observation applications. The synoptic view provided by satellite images at varying spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions has optimized the usage of satellite-based earth observations for a range of socio-economic applications such as crop monitoring, human settlements mapping, urban growth assessment, surface water monitoring, vegetation mapping, and post-disaster assessment. In recent years, CubeSats have become the main platform for demonstrating and testing imaging payloads and have been utilized for measuring various land, atmospheric, and ocean parameters. At least 300 CubeSats have been launched since 2000 and it is anticipated that the number of nano and microsatellites will grow exponentially by 2020. While capability demonstration and education has been the main objective of CubeSat programs, the scientific quality of the data produced by CubeSat constellations are frequently exceeding initial expectations.