Planetary Resources, Inc., announced today that it has secured US$21.1 million in Series A funding. The capital will be used to deploy and operate Ceres, an advanced Earth observation platform that features the first commercial infrared and hyperspectral sensor system to better understand and manage natural resources.
The funding was led by Bryan Johnson and the OS FUND, and joined by Idea Bulb Ventures, Tencent, Vast Ventures, Grishin Robotics, Conversion Capital, The Seraph Group, Space Angels Network, a syndication of investors from Angel.co, and Larry Page. Earth observation will be another aspect of Planetary Resources operations in addition to exploring for and mining asteroids.
Conceived from the company vision for the exploration and utilization of asteroid resources, Ceres will leverage Planetary Resources Arkyd spacecraft to deliver affordable, on-demand Earth intelligence of our natural resources on any spot on the planet. While typical satellite imagery provides only a picture, Ceres will provide actionable data with higher spectral resolutions, going beyond what the human eye can see, by measuring thermographic properties and detecting the composition of materials on Earth surface. The midwave-infrared sensor is the first ever commercial capability from space to offer thermographic mapping and night-imaging, and the hyperspectral sensor that includes unprecedented 40 color bands in the visible to near-infrared spectrum.
The imaging technology is integrated onto the Arkyd spacecraft and deployed as a constellation of 10 satellites in low-Earth orbit. The constellation will provide global monitoring capability to benefit multiple industries including agriculture, oil and gas, water quality, financial intelligence and forestry. Ceres can analyze the spectral signatures of crops and provide customized information to growers, identify energy and mineral resources, and monitor pipelines and remote infrastructure.
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