New Tool Lets Anyone Find Hidden Crime From Space

Finding a hidden airstrip carved into the Amazon rainforest used to take months of expert analysis and expensive computing power. Now anyone with internet access can do it in an afternoon.

Earth Index, a new tool from nonprofit Earth Genome, just opened to the public without a waitlist. It works like Google for satellite images: you highlight what you're looking for, like a mining site or illegal trawler, and it scans the entire planet for similar patterns.

The technology relies on AI trained on massive archives of Earth observation data. It can recognize features across different geographies and time periods, turning complex satellite imagery into something as searchable as a photo library.

Mongabay journalists already used it to uncover previously unreported drug trafficking airstrips in Peru's Amazon. The team combined automated detection with on-the-ground reporting to verify what the satellites revealed.

Other early users have mapped illegal gold mining operations in the Amazon, tracked quarries in the Balkans, and identified methane emissions from cattle farms. Researchers have catalogued industrial livestock facilities and monitored watershed changes in California's farming regions.

Until now, this kind of analysis required specialized teams and significant resources. Even well-funded investigations took months to develop custom models for each project. Earth Index collapses that timeline to days or even hours.

The system lets non-technical users upload their own reference images, generate training labels, and share results publicly. Human judgment guides the AI output, creating an iterative workflow that balances machine speed with human expertise.

The Ripple Effect

The real breakthrough is access. Satellite data has been publicly available for decades, but its complexity kept it locked away from most potential users. By lowering the technical barrier, Earth Index extends capabilities once confined to governments and research institutions to journalists, advocacy groups, and local communities.

Amazon Conservation and the Pulitzer Center partnered with Earth Genome to build Amazon Mining Watch using this technology. The tool transforms concerned citizens into environmental monitors, giving them the same eyes in the sky that corporations and governments have enjoyed for years.

The developers plan to keep access free for high-impact users, though advanced features like higher usage limits and API access sit behind a separate tier. An "Open" tier provides global access and core features to anyone.

The system does have limitations. Most imagery comes from public satellites with moderate resolution, making it less useful for real-time monitoring. False positives remain possible, and interpretation still depends on user judgment.

With satellite search now available to everyone, the power to uncover hidden environmental damage has shifted from the few to the many.