GRASP Earth: Earth Observation Makes A Difference For Millions

Airphoton leaders (left to right) J. Vanderlei Martins, Lorraine Remer and Richard Kleidman at the American Geophysical Union meeting in 2017.

Prof. J Vanderlei Martins

With more than 30 years of experience, Prof. Martins is a world-renown expert in designing and building in situ instruments and space payloads for measuring air pollution particles. He led the efforts that have resulted in three successful satellite instruments, two for NASA and one for GRASP Earth. His latest contribution is the HyperAngle Rainbow Polarimeter 2 (HARP2) currently orbiting Earth on NASA’s PACE observatory.

For this effort, he received the NASA Exceptional Public Service medal in 2023. Prof. Martins is a Professor of Physics and Director of the Earth and Space Institute at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), in addition to his technical leadership at GRASP Earth’s Airphoton division where he serves as Chief Technical Officer.

Dr. Lorraine Remer

Dr. Remer brings more than 40 years experience in Atmospheric Science research, applications and leadership to the table. She spent 22 years at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center creating the aerosol product from the data of NASA’s flagship MODIS sensor aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites, and was a part of the first efforts to use that product for air quality applications. Dr. Remer left NASA in 2012 to join Prof. Martins at UMBC and to found Airphoton. She was Airphoton’s founding Chief Executive Officer and is serving in that role again. Dr. Remer was elected as a Fellow to the American Geophysical Union in 2015.

Mr. Richard Kleidman

Mr. Kleidman has over 30 years experience in satellite remote sensing for air quality applications, satellite data user training and business development. He worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center supporting NASA software development as a data analyst and as a trainer for most of his 30-year career. Mr. Kleidman was Airphoton’s founding Chief Operations Officer and is now serving the company as Chief Marketing Officer.

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GRASP Earth- Business Model

GRASP Earth's business model is focused on enhancing Earth Observation solutions, helping to prevent serious risks to both human health and the economy. GRASP Earth is a group of research scientists from different engineering and science fields who work together to monitor atmospheric phenomena through scientific research and innovative technology for Earth Observations from the ground and from space.

The air quality tragedy is recognized by all major health organizations and studies (references). This opens up a billion dollar market as governments, national and local, as well as private industry and non profit foundations devote resources to monitor and then mitigate the dire pollution.

According to Precedence Research, “The global air quality monitoring system market size was calculated at USD 5.82 billion in 2024, grew to USD 6.25 billion in 2025 and is predicted to hit around USD 12.06 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 7.56% between 2024 and 2034.” Other estimates corroborate this estimate of growth (CAGR of 7.0% from 2023 to 2028 from Markets and Markets; CAGR of 7.5% from 2025 to 2030 from Grand View Research).

The need exists. The market is growing. GRASP Earth’s broad expertise will be there to meet the need and tap into the expanding market. The point is that the problem is too important and too large in scope to limit monitoring to regional efforts. The solution requires a global and therefore a satellite-view perspective, and yet, after decades of attempts, reliance on only satellite data for air quality monitoring has been insufficient.

GRASP Earth combines satellite and ground-based technology with advanced data processing. No other entity, public or private, has the expertise to take this holistic approach for providing a comprehensive air quality monitoring solution.

GRASP-Earth is prepared to meet the need with their own fleet of satellite sensors, designed and built in-house that merge effortlessly with deployable ground sensors to validate and calibrate the spaceborne fleet. This can only be done with the GRASP proven data synthesizing and analysis software package.

GRASP Earth has built confidence in their software solution through their extensive applications using the observations of European space missions, such as Copernicus and EUMETSAT. Pilot studies show the additional information provided by ground-based instruments further enable GRASP Earth to provide precise, localized data at accuracies, spatial resolution and coverage not possible by any other means.

GRASP-Earth launched its first in-space instrument, GAPMAP-0, in 2023. GAPMAP-0 was a technology demonstration mission that proved GRASP Earth’s space capabilities by reliably collecting Earth images for a full year. GRASP Earth is now developing downstream applications from the GAPMAP-0 data that help industries, municipalities, and environmental organizations monitor air quality on a large scale, offering affordable and effective solutions to address global environmental challenges.

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GRASP Earth- Products and Services

GRASP Earth-Team

GRASP Earth relied on its strong scientific foundation, teamwork, and adaptability during tough times. With a skilled multidisciplinary team and a focus on long-term goals, GRASP Earth overcame challenges effectively.

Strategic partnerships, careful use of resources, and a commitment to innovation kept them resilient. Clear communication and a shared vision within the team were crucial in overcoming obstacles and staying on track.

The Uniqueness of GRASP Earth

The GRASP algorithm and the GAPMAP constellation are the two key elements that make GRASP Earth unique.

First, the GRASP algorithm is a powerful, open-source data processing tool that provides accurate and scalable air quality monitoring by integrating satellite, ground-based, and public data. It is recognized in scientific research and is used in European missions like Sentinel-4, 3MI, and CO2M. GRASP-OPEN is an open-source community tool, which has more than 1,600 members (including individuals and large teams) and keeps growing through cooperation and advancement.

Second, the GAPMAP constellation uses CubeSats equipped with multi-angular polarimeters (MAP) to offer global coverage and up to five daily revisit times. The GRASP Earth GAPMAP sensor is the only one of its kind with a sufficiently small form factor to fit a small CubeSat platform. This makes a constellation of such small satellites equipped with powerful sensors affordable. This process allows for frequent and detailed observations. The first demonstration of this mission took place in April 2023, with full deployment of the multi-platform constellation expected between 2025-2028.

Third, after two decades of scientific practical attempts, there has been no consistent and sufficiently accurate particulate air quality product produced from satellite observations. GRASP Earth’s business plan calls for deployment of ground sensors to reduce the number of unknowns inherent in satellite data alone. The GRASP software is able to synthesize spaceborne and ground-based data to close the loop that has been evading satellite analyses for so long. This technology overcomes the limitations of traditional air quality monitoring by combining satellite coverage with precise, localized data.

Together, these three elements provide a reliable and comprehensive solution for air quality monitoring.

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GRASP Earth - Memorable Achievement

GRASP Earth has won many achievements, but the most memorable achievement has been the successful launch and data capture of GAPMAP-0, which proved the company’s space capabilities.

The success of GAPMAP-0 proves that the technology is ready to expand into the planned constellation and adapt for complementary future missions.

GRASP Earth- Future Plans

In 2025, GRASP Earth plans to continue to grow its software business by expanding into new non-European markets and further developing the software’s synthesis capabilities with new data sources. At the same time, GRASP Earth will continue the GAPMAP constellation by seeking and engaging strategic partners in the New Space environment who will bring expertise in terms of satellite builds and others who engage directly with potential customers of the data.

The plan is to have additional GAPMAP sensors in fabrication by the end of the year for launch in 2026. The goal is for an operating GAPMAP constellation enabling worldwide coverage of aerosol monitoring and customers identified to purchase the data.