Exploration de la Terre par les satellites

A large-format album devoted to satellite remote sensing and the observation of the Earth from space, published by Hachette in 1979 with a preface by Yves Sillard, Director General of the French space agency CNES. The book first retraces the history of observing the planet (aerial photography, balloons, early satellites) and sets out the principle of remote sensing and the electromagnetic spectrum, before presenting the main observation satellites (Landsat, Meteosat, Nimbus, Seasat, Cosmos). The central section surveys the fields of application (meteorology, oceanography, geology, hydrography, agriculture and forestry, cartography, urban planning, pollution, reconnaissance satellites) illustrated by some 250 colour and black-and-white documents. A final part sketches the operational systems to come (the Space Shuttle, SPOT, international regulation).