Using Planet Data

Topics in this section:

1 Planet access request form
2 Via Add-in to explore and order satellite data
3 Planet basemap WMTS service directly

Planet access request form

QSat access request form - If multiple people require access a spreadsheet with details for all can be uploaded, that way only one form needs to be filled out.

Via Add-in to explore and order satellite data

As part of the SISP Program Planet satellite data can be downloaded.

There is now an add-in for ArcGIS Pro available to explore and order Planet satellite imagery. Follow Planet’s workflow to install and use the add in: https://developers.planet.com/planetschool/viewing-a-flood-event-with-the-planet-explorer-arcgis-pro-add-in/.

To install, simply double click the ESRI AddInX File and follow the prompts and it should install to your existing ArcGIS Pro installation very quickly and easily.

When you open a new ArcGIS Pro session, you should see a Planet imagery in the menu ribbon. You’ll then just need to input your Planet account credentials (not API key) using the Account button.

To search and view the near-daily Planet scenes, click on the Image Search button. The search offers the similar capabilities to Planet Explorer – you can draw a search extent or use the extent from the current view or a layer in the session. Clicking on the Filter button gives you an array of other parameters to search on, such as date range, cloud cover percentage and imagery Sources. After clicking Search, the results will be shown underneath. You can then start viewing scenes by clicking the button next to the scene/group of scenes you wish to view and this will be added to the map view in the Contents pane.

Viewing scenes does in Pro like this should not consume quota. You can download the scenes if you wish by ticking the scenes you want to download then clicking the Order button at the bottom – note this will consume download quota. For more information go to the QSat imagery subscription access webpage.

To access the basemaps,

click on the Planet Basemaps button in the top menu.
In the Name drop down box, select either Global Monthly (GBR catchments only) or Global Quarterly (statewide) and click Apply. This should then list out the basemaps in that category that we have access to under the current contract.
To view these, tick the basemap/s you want to use and click the Export Selected button, and these should be added to your current map view.
To interrogate the basemap, click the Planet Inspector button in the top menu then click the pencil button – when hovering over the map your cursor should switch to a cross. Click in an area of the basemap you want to know the capture date of – the PlanetScope scene that the basemap was created from at that point should then be listed in the Planet Inspector pane, showing the capture date (in UTC).

Planet basemap WMTS service directly

Users can also consume the basemap WMTS service directly. Planet also have their own general reference documentation, but in this section a quick summery for ArcGIS Pro.

The URL for the WMTS service should include the API key of your Planet account registered under the QSat imagery subscription.

https://api.planet.com/basemaps/v1/mosaics/wmts?api_key={api-key}

Replace {api-key} with your own Planet API key. This can be found by going to Planet Explorer > My Account and copying the API key text

The URL should end up looking something like this:

https://api.planet.com/basemaps/v1/mosaics/wmts?api_key=4vtbt3b45434tb34b47m4454yb

Please be aware that the API key expires after a couple of months. and you need to add a new updated API key from your Planet account profile. To view your current updated api key please go to the https://www.planet.com/account/ My Settings page. You may also need to reset your planet.com password.

This WMTS service is for internal use only – API keys or URLs containing an API key must not be shared with external entities. Ideally, they should also not shared between internal staff either (who should be using their own Planet accounts).

You should then be able to input the URL into ArcGIS Pro through the usual method of adding a WMS/WMTS layer (please see for ArcGIS Pro) and the application should list out the individual layers (i.e. the different basemaps) that you can view:

Latest Monthly Mosaic – this is the latest Planet imagery compiled for the last month over the Great Barrier Reef Catchments.
Latest Quarterly Mosaic – This is the latest Planet mosaic available over the whole of the state. There will only ever be two epochs of Planet imagery covering the whole state, the dates for these are to be set by Spatial Information. Currently available is a mosaic of quarter 3 2020.
Other layers shown at the WMTS endpoint will be superseded monthly/quarterly basemaps that Queensland Government users are permitted to access under the current contract.

Lastly, if you work in a Queensland Government agency, Government Owned Corporation, or Local Government Authority and you would like to use the Planet WMTS in an internal web application/map, please fill in the QSat access request form in the Spatial Help Centre to setup a separate Planet General User account for this use case. The only public facing interface that the WMTS is licenced to be displayed in are the Queensland Globe and GeoResGlobe.