How to Create and Format Your AOI GeoJSON for Provisioning

Providing a properly formatted Area of Interest (AOI) file is the crucial first step to provisioning your satellite data plan. To ensure a smooth and rapid setup, all AOIs must be submitted as GeoJSON files that meet specific spatial requirements.

Technical Specifications

Your GeoJSON file must adhere to the following parameters to be accepted by our provisioning system:

• Filetype: GeoJSON (.geojson)

• Projection: EPSG:4326 (WGS84)

• Total Area: The combined area of all polygons must be between 100 sq km and 100,000 sq km.

• Minimum Polygon Size: Each individual polygon within the file must be at least 25 sq km.

• Maximum Vertices: No single polygon can exceed 1500 vertices.

Other Specifications to include:

• TOI: (DD-MM-YYYY) to (DD-MM-YYYY) 

• Cadence: Monthly

• Type: Surface Reflectance

• Bands: 8 Bands

Generating Your GeoJSON using Planet Explorer

If you do not already have a compliant GeoJSON file, you can easily create one or validate an existing shape directly within Planet Explorer.

Step 1: Locate the Area of Interest Tool Navigate to the right-hand toolbar in Planet Explorer. Hover over the dashed square icon with the cursor; the tooltip will display "Draw or upload an area of interest."

Step 2: Open the AOI Menu Click the icon to expand the Area of Interest menu. This menu provides multiple tools to define your provisioning area.

Step 3: Draw or Upload Your Shape Depending on your starting point, choose one of the following methods from the expanded menu:

• To Draw a New AOI: Click on the circle, square, or polygon (freehand) icons to draw directly on the map over your target area.

• To Upload an Existing AOI: Click the Upload icon (the arrow pointing upward) to import an existing file.

Step 4: Verify and Export Once your shape is on the map:

1. Verify that your total area and individual polygon areas meet the required size thresholds (minimum 100 sq km per polygon, up to 100,000 sq km total).

2. If drawing manually, ensure you do not create overly complex shapes (maximum of 1500 vertices).

3. Use the export tools to save your geometry explicitly as a .geojson file in the EPSG:4326 (WGS84) coordinate reference system. In Explorer, the saved geojson by default resorts to EPSG:4326

Alternative Generation Methods

If you prefer to work outside of Planet Explorer, you can also create and format your GeoJSON using standard GIS software (such as QGIS or ArcGIS Pro) or free web-based tools (like geojson.io). Just ensure your final export strictly adheres to the technical specifications outlined above