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A new documentary detailing the war in Ukraine one year on from Russia’s invasion includes vast amounts of imagery provided by the Maxar News Bureau, including many of the images used by global news media to document the conflict since February 2022. The documentary is airing in markets around the world, including airing on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on Feb. 19, 2023, and on National Geographic on a rolling basis in multiple international markets.

February 24, 2023 marked the one year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an ongoing war that has caused widespread destruction and devastating humanitarian impacts.

Throughout the conflict, commercial satellite imagery has played a crucial part in bringing transparency about what’s happening on the ground. The Maxar News Bureau has provided imagery of more than 200 news events to journalists around the world, including the 40-mile convoy traveling to Kyiv in the early days of the war, the atrocities in Bucha, the destruction of Mariupol and countless others.

Through the News Bureau, Maxar has helped media outlets tell a more accurate story of the war, providing valuable context to events on the ground and helping to combat disinformation.

The most recent example is a new documentary which is being shown worldwide on networks including National Geographic and Channel 4 in the UK. The documentary chronicles the first year of the war, using satellite imagery as a starting point to dive deeper into key moments throughout the conflict. Maxar worked closely with the production team to provide relevant imagery and insights about each image.

The War in Ukraine: Key Moments Captured by Maxar’s Constellation.

The storytelling format of the documentary reflects an undeniable truth—satellite imagery and associated insights have become a fundamental part of how global events are reported on today. While Maxar has been working with journalists for years, satellite images have increasingly played a feature role in coverage of everything from Hurricane Ian in Florida to the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria. These images are not only included in news stories, but they are also shared widely on social media sites.

Just the beginning: How Maxar’s evolving capabilities have the potential to drive even more global transparency

The remote sensing industry is evolving, which means that its impact on customers and society will continue to evolve as well. The industry is primarily focused on two key trends—integrated, multisource intelligence and analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies.

Multisource intelligence, or the integration of multiple data sources, is an important focus for the geospatial industry as it will provide customers and society with even more visibility and actionable insights. Maxar is leading this push, with one example being our recent partnership with Umbra that will enable us to deliver 24/7, all-weather monitoring.

Analytics and AI/ML are important because they help generate even more value from the satellite imagery and can assist imagery and geospatial analysts by focusing their attention on areas with significant activity and change. Specifically, these technologies can be used to create algorithms for automated object detection, monitoring change and identifying patterns.

Many of these capabilities are being used to serve customer missions today. And as Maxar continues to develop them over time, they may also inform our work with journalists and other similar stakeholders in the future.

Enabling global transparency

See how Maxar supports journalism around the world

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