Lemu Nge: Life, from space.
Lemu Nge captures hyperspectral imagery of natural ecosystems to detect vegetation change, assess habitat quality — and even reveal species from space. Designed to close the biodiversity data gap from orbit, it helps make life on Earth visible, measurable, and better protected.
Lemu Nge (“Forest Eye” in Mapudungun), is the world’s first biodiversity-focused satellite — built to close the data gap where life is most diverse, and least visible. In orbit and operational since August 2024.
It carries a hyperspectral sensor that captures detailed spectral signatures from orbit, enabling deeper analysis of plant species, ecosystem change, and habitat health. From native forests to wetlands and coastal zones, Lemu Nge helps bring overlooked ecosystems into focus.
Why did we decide to launch our own satellite?
Biodiversity is still invisible.
Most satellites weren’t designed to detect life. Lemu Nge was built to observe ecosystems — not just land cover.
The data gap is massive.
The places richest in life are often poorest in data. Lemu Nge helps fill these blind spots — before setting foot on the ground.
Better signals for local action.
Our sensor captures the detail needed to support real decisions on the ground — not just stunning imagery.
Better inputs for Nature Intelligence.
Spectral and spatial precision to unlock insight across space and time.
Initial observation areas.
In its first year, our satellite will focus on observing ecosystems in Chile, then extend to the rest of the Global South and eventually to the entire world. The biological mission, focused on analyzing vegetation biodiversity, has five initial observation areas.
Lemu Nge in numbers.
Lemu Nge was built as a nanosatellite to minimize the energy and emissions needed to put it into orbit. It has an advanced propulsion system to adjust its orbit and then de-orbit safely at the end of its mission, disintegrating without leaving space debris.
6U
Satellite size. Lemu Nge is a 6U nanosatellite. The satellite "bus," which carries all of its components, measures 30x20x10 cm, similar to the size of a shoebox.
600
Kilometers of altitude. Our satellite orbits the Earth and captures images nearly 600 km above the Earth's surface in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
14
Daily orbits. The "Forest Eye" takes an average of 96.5 minutes to complete one orbit around the Earth, moving at approximately 27,337 km/h.
Seeing the invisible: the hyperspectral camera.
Lemu Nge's high-resolution hyperspectral camera can segment land cover and vegetation biodiversity with more than 20 times the accuracy of other satellite images. The data for the images it captures is received by antennas in Svalbard and Punta Arenas.
32
Hyperspectral camera bands. Captures images at 32 different wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum, exceeding the human eye's capability.
<5
Meters of camera resolution. Each pixel captured by the hyperspectral camera represents an area on the ground of approximately 4.75 meters per side.
450-900
Approximate nanometers. The range goes from 450 nm in the visible spectrum, near blue and violet, to 900 nm in the near-infrared (NIR), invisible to the human eye.
3-7
Revisit rate. Our nanosatellite takes between 3 and 7 days to pass over the same place on our planet and revisit a specific area.
First light.
Only 4 days, 14 hours, and 10 minutes after entering orbit, Lemu Nge captured its first image over an area of vineyards near Lisbon.
This initial test was made with 1 of the 32 bands of the satellite hyperspectral camera and was colorized with AI to highlight the distinction of surfaces.
Vilnius, Lithuania - NanoAvionics specializes in designing, manufacturing, and operating small satellites known as CubeSats. They currently have more than 80 microsatellites and nanosatellites launched or in production. NanoAvionics has been at the forefront of the Lemu Nge mission.
Cape Town, South Africa - Simera focuses on developing and implementing innovative technology solutions for space and environmental applications. They specialize in the manufacture of remote sensing and environmental monitoring systems. Simera sense developed Lemu Nge's hyperspectral camera.
Hawthorne, California (USA) - SpaceX is an aerospace technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and launching rockets and spacecraft to revolutionize space travel. Lemu Nge was launched by SpaceX on a Falcon 9 rocket on August 16th, 2024 (8/16/24).
Want to know more about Lemu Nge?
If you are a company interested in Lemu Nge hyperspectral imagery or how it informs the indicators of our nature data platform, Lemu Atlas, get in touch.
I want to know moreA tour of our satellite.
Take this guided tour to see exactly what Lemu Nge looks like, learn about its main components, and discover some of its more exciting details.