The Planet Soil Water Content (SWC) product is based on passive microwave observations and uses optical imagery from Sentinel-2 to enhance its spatial resolution. This dependency on multiple satellite sensors can, at times, lead to delays in data production.

When you have a subscription for a specific location, you might occasionally receive a "no data" result. This can happen for two primary reasons related to how our Near Real-Time (NRT) service processes microwave satellite data.

Scenario 1: Delayed/ Missing Microwave Swath

The first scenario occurs when our system expects an overpass—the satellite's path over a specific location—but no microwave data is received within a set timeframe. Our NRT service anticipates when a satellite is scheduled to capture data for a given area based on its regular capture patterns.

• If the system expects an overpass, it will wait up to 30 days for the corresponding input files to become available for processing from our data providers such as NASA's National Snow and Ice Data Center.
• If after 30 days no data has been received, the subscription is marked as "no data" for that date.

This is a forwardfill subscription behavior. The system proactively checks for expected data and waits for it, ensuring that processing can continue as soon as the files are available.

Scenario 2: No Overpass Occurred

The second reason for a "no data" result is when the satellite's path simply doesn't cross over the subscribed location on a particular day. In this case, our system knows immediately that no data will be available for that date.

• Instead of waiting, the system marks the date as "ready no data" right away.
• This prevents your subscription from being held in a pending state, waiting for a match that will never occur.