Satellite imagery shows what is happening on the Earth's surface at various spectral, temporal, radiometric, and detailed spatial resolutions. Visible satellite images often reveal the disk image of the Sun over oceans where the wind current is very light.
Now, satellite images from the Virginia-based Maxar Technologies reveal another mass burial site in Ukraine's eastern part. It is located outside of the port city of Mariupol, which is one of the most affected areas amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In this drone image, A grave digger prepares the ground for a funeral at a cemetery on April 21, 2022 in Irpin, Ukraine.
What Satellite Images Reveal on the Makeshift Burial Ground
Maxar Technologies released satellite images of a newly excavated mass grave earlier this month, which shows a newly excavated burial ground is in the town of Bucha, near Ukraine's capital Kyiv.
Maxar's WorldView-3 satellite spotted another big, makeshift burial site in the town of Manhush, which is about 12 miles from the besieged city of Mariupol, Space.com reported.
Mass grave near besieged Ukrainian city Mariupol spotted from space (satellite photos) https://t.co/WQljPvvNzD pic.twitter.com/vgS3OdO4P6
— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) April 21, 2022
Russian forces have been targeting the area as it is a strategically important southern port city since the beginning of the invasion on Feb. 24. The attack on the city has claimed 10,000 civilian lives, and the death toll has continually risen every day.
The newly released satellite images identified a likely resting place for hundreds of dead civilians killed in the invasion. Maxar representatives said in an email to the news outlet that Russian soldiers seemed to be taking the bodies of people killed in Mariupol to the Manhush mass grave.
They added that a review of satellite images from mid-March to mid-April indicates that the makeshift graves have been expanded from March 23 to 26, 2022 and Russian forces have continued to expand the area over the past weeks.
"The graves are aligned in four sections of linear rows (measuring approximately 85 meters [260 feet] per section) and contain more than 200 new graves," Maxar describes the mass burial site in the email.
Analysts, government officials, and aid workers said that these new photos help them monitor the ongoing Russian invasion in the area and its impacts on Ukraine.
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Importance of Satellite Imagery in the Modern World
Satellites from private companies like Maxar, BlackSky, and Planet have played a big role in the current Russian-Ukraine crisis as they became the eyes in the sky to see what is happening on the battlefield. It is one of the many advantages of using satellites in today's world.
As Geoland Project says, satellite images are one of the most powerful and critical tools that monitor the earth by tracking its physical environment, including the water, air, land, and vegetation. More so, satellites measure, identify, and track the changing human footprint across the globe.
Other applications of satellite images may include meteorology and weather forecasting, oceanography, agriculture, fishing, conservation, landscape analysis, geology, mapping, forestry, regional planning, environmental assessment, intelligence and warfare, and education. Satellite images discussed in books and online materials used in schools support information on maps, graphs, and text.
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