Satellites are capturing the protests, and just about everything else on Earth

A handout photo made available by 2020 Planet Labs on June 5 shows the large diesel spill in the Ambarnaya River outside Norilsk in the Arctic taken on June 4. — Planet Labs Inc/AFP

As protesters gathered in Washington over the weekend, their march across the city was documented by photography satellites flying overhead. One particular image stood out and made its way to various television newscasts. It showed the the bright yellow "Black Lives Matter” mural that had been painted on two blocks of asphalt near the White House. It was visual proof that the protests and their message had, in a sense, made their way to space.

The company that took the photo, Planet Labs Inc, has hundreds of satellites floating around Earth, enough that it can snap at least one photo of every spot on the planet every day, according to the startup. Such imagery used to be rare, expensive and controlled by governments. Now, Planet has built what amounts to a real-time accounting system of the earth that just about anyone can access by paying a fee.