Menut, a nanosatellite promoted by the Government of Catalonia and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) and launched over two years ago, was designed to capture Earth images, with a special focus on the Catalan region. Now, these images are officially accessible to the public through the Menut Viewer, enabling users to explore and download them for a wide range of applications. The IEEC has also just closed a call for the second edition of its ‘Earth Observation Use Case Ideas competition for the Private Sector’ which invites companies in the Catalan sector to propose innovative ways they can implement the use of Menut data into their operations. Winners of the competition can receive up to €50,000 in funding to support their projects.
Image rendered by OpenCosmos shows Menut orbiting Earth.
What is Menut?
On 3 January 2023, the Government of Catalonia launched its second nanosatellite from the Cape Canaveral space base in Florida, USA. This satellite was named Menut, which means ‘small’ in Catalan. The mission is managed by the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) with the technical support from the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC), and was awarded to Open Cosmos, the company responsible for its design, manufacturing, and operation.
NewSpace represents a disruption of the use and access of space, allowing start-ups, SMEs and large companies to look for new opportunities in the space sector through the new implementation of nanosatellites, allowing access to space to be cheaper and more manageable. Menut is the first Earth observation mission based on a small satellite developed within the framework of the NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia promoted by the Catalan Government. It is a nanosatellite based on a 6 CubeSat unit (6U) platform and weighing less than 10kg. It orbits the Earth at a distance of 538 km in a Sun synchronous orbit and with a speed of about 8 km/s, meaning it passes over Catalonia approximately every 5 days. Equipped with a state-of-the-art multispectral camera that operates in the visible and near infra-red spectrum range, Menut is able to acquire images from space with a spatial resolution of up to 5 meters of any location on Earth, while prioritising images from Catalonia.
The IEEC designed and contracted this mission through a service provision framework and owns the Earth observation data over Catalonia. In turn, Open Cosmos retains the ability to commercialize the remaining satellite capacity.
View of the northern region of Catalonia, obtained by the Menut nanosatellite. Credit: image of the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), processed by the Cartographic and Geologic Institute of Catalonia (ICGC) and financed by the Government of Catalonia as part of the NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia, under the license CC BY 4.0.
What does Menut do?
Menut’s main mission is the observation of the Earth with a special focus in the region of Catalonia, aimed at enhancing spatial planning and supporting efforts to monitor and mitigate the effects of climate change. The collected data is integrated into services that address critical challenges such as the climate emergency, energy crisis, and the management of natural resources and disasters. Menut also serves as a complementary source of data to larger missions, such as Sentinel-2, providing higher revisit times and added flexibility for regional monitoring needs.
Use cases
Menut was implemented into the first “Earth Observation Use Case Ideas Competition for the Private Sector”, an initiative coordinated by the IEEC and promoted by the Government of Catalonia. This competition aimed to enhance the competitiveness of private sector companies by incorporating satellite data technology, offering funding of up to €50,000. Two Earth-observation use cases applicable to the Catalan territory were selected and funded: the projects MARE (company isardSAT) and MOT (company SPASCAT).
On one hand, MARE aims to enhance drought monitoring capabilities in Catalonia through remote sensing-based soil moisture products at high spatial and temporal resolution. MOT, on the other hand, introduces an application designed for agricultural professionals without requiring specialized training. This tool automates field monitoring—specifically for tree and vineyard farms—by analyzing spectral data from satellites.
Recently, the second edition of the competition was launched, giving companies the opportunity to submit their proposals until 24 February 2025.
What can you do with Menut?
Examples of what can be done with the images acquired by the Menut nanosatellite. Algebra between spectral bands can be computed to estimate indices to monitor changes in water content or to quantify vegetation density, among other applications. Credit: images of the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), processed by the Cartographic and Geologic Institute of Catalonia (ICGC) and financed by the Government of Catalonia as part of the NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia, under the license CC BY 4.0.
Recently, the images from Menut were officially made publicly and freely available to everyone on the Menut Viewer. This interactive tool allows users to visualise and download the images captured by Menut for all purposes, whether business, professional, academic or personal. It was developed by the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC), which has been working closely with the IEEC and Open Cosmos since Menut’s launch to ensure the regular provision of images with the established quality criteria.
Businesses can also benefit from these images by incorporating them into their operations and therefore enhancing their competitiveness in the sector. The use of these images are categorised into 6 different areas:
- Outreach: generation of content, news, and illustrations to promote the features, possibilities, and usefulness of this type of data.
- Training: creation of educational content to explain the main techniques and methodologies of Earth Observation and to develop teaching and training materials for analysing and processing this data.
- Interpretation: visual or digital analysis to determine or delimit landscape elements and identify objects or cover types.
- Spectral response analysis: analysis and differentiation of various cover types and the creation of spectral indices that help in understanding the territory and its condition.
- Biophysical variable determination: extraction of values for biophysical variables using information gathered from spectral bands. This information can later be validated with field data to establish segmentation of these variable values.
- Detection of temporal changes: using data sets taken at different times, changes in the territory can be analysed, both geometric (such as the shape or texture of elements studied) and radiometric.
You can access the viewer by clicking here.
Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC)
Esteve Terradas 1, Edifici RDIT, Oficina 212
Parc Mediterrani de la Tecnologia (PMT), Campus del Baix Llobregat - UPC
08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)