Prior to 1986, users of satellite based remotely sensed data were almost exclusively reliant on the United States Landsat series of satellites to monitor our Earth's resources. This situation changed when France, Belgium and Sweden launched SPOT-1 in 1986._x000D_
The year of 1988 saw the Japanese also enter into the earth resource satellite business. The Japanese launched an earth resource monitoring satellite with an emphasis on marine resources, hence the name MOS- 1 (Marine Observation Satellite). Many more remote sensing instruments are planned for launch by these nations and others in the next 10 years.