What Do Satellites Do?

Satellites are unmanned spacecraft that are held in orbit around the Earth by the force of gravity. We now have a huge number of satellites that are launched into space by rocket to carry out all sorts of communications and monitoring functions. The orbits around the Earth are packed with machinery  that observe and record.

Weather satellites used cameras of different types and complex monitoring equipment to assess the temperature on the surface of the Earth, the cloud formations and wind speeds in order to provide accurate weather forecasts.

Other satellites identify rock formations that might be sites of fossils, fuels or other resources. Yet others monitor the carbon dioxide uptake of different forests across the Earth, measuring their potential as a carbon sink to counteract the build up of carbon dioxide produced by human industry.

Communication satellites transmit telephone and television signals across the world and stabilise the ubiquitous mobile phone networks that we all depend on so much.