STAC API with R in Planetary Computer

Learning to access the satellite data is important from different data providers is the initial step in our geospatial analysis. STAC, Spatio-Temporal Asset Catalog, is the way to organize the geospatial data in the cloud. This makes querying and accessing them easier.

STAC:

  • Spatio-Temporal Asset Catalog (STAC):
  • common language, metadata for describing/organising geospatial data 
  • common formats; uses JSON files; consistency and interpretation
  • for data with spatial & temporal component
  • flexible extensions, interoperability to search specific data types; accommodate provider needs / implementable standards.

Levels (more as components): 

STAC Catalog > descriptions of geospatial data collections

  STAC Item > information about the data (properties)

Data Assets > actual geospatial data

href > URL to access the file

Planetary Computer:

Launched on April 2021, Planetary Computer provides multi-petabytes of data with APIs and the computing environment.