Find satellite data for your question

Start with the data you need to receive.

You may already know the area, dates, resolution and sensor you want. Or you may know the task—reviewing a field, comparing a site or studying a coastline—and need help translating it into a data request. Both are useful starting points.

Choose a location anywhere on Earth and define the area you need covered. A point identifies a place; a boundary and area size help describe the delivery. You can acquire data for tools you already use without asking for an analysis or app.

Share that brief with Milkypad to discuss acquisition options, suitability and the terms to review before an order. A request defines what you need; it does not guarantee matching data exists or that a future collection is feasible.

Specify the dimensions that matter.

• Area: Describe the location, boundary and area to cover, including any separate sites or exclusions.
• Dates: Give historical dates, an acceptable observation window or a future collection period. Add a delivery deadline separately.
• Spatial detail: State the resolution you need or describe the smallest feature that matters. Pixel spacing alone does not guarantee a feature can be detected.
• Spectral bands or sensor: Name required bands, wavelengths or a sensor type if known. Otherwise describe the measurement, such as visible appearance, vegetation, temperature, radar response or elevation.
• Height or 3D: For elevation or three-dimensional data, describe whether you need the ground surface, buildings or vegetation, along with the required vertical accuracy and reference system.
• Quality and coverage: Explain acceptable cloud, missing area or other limits. Check usable coverage within your boundary rather than only the whole image.
• Delivery and use: Specify the format, processing level, coordinate reference system, units and intended users when known. Check the license for your planned analysis, download, publication or sharing.
• Budget: Include an approximate range if useful, and review the full quote and delivery terms before ordering.

Choose archive data or request a future capture.

Archive data comes from observations already captured. Check the actual capture date, footprint and quality against your brief. Ordering an archive product may still involve processing and delivery time.

A future capture request asks a provider to collect new observations during a specified window. Feasibility, collection conditions, accepted coverage and delivery terms need to be assessed before commitment. A requested date is not a confirmed observation.

Keep the capture date, the product’s processing or publication date and your delivery deadline separate. A product delivered today may describe a place years ago. A composite can combine observations from several dates.

Time also changes how places look. The USGS’s Petermann Glacier image series shows seasonal differences in snow, ice, shadows and illumination. Explore the USGS seasonal example.

Prepare a brief you can use to compare offers.

Keep the area, dates, spatial and spectral requirements, quality limits, format, intended use and deadline together. Separate requirements you must meet from preferences you can adjust.

If no option matches, consider a wider date window, a different sensor or a revised coverage requirement. Review how each change affects the delivery before choosing an alternative.

For a data-only request, the completed outcome is receiving the agreed data with its source information and usage rights. You can then use it in your existing workflow. Explore Milkypad’s analysis and app workflows when you want to go further with the data.

Explore Data acquisition to understand the request, ordering and delivery workflow.