ASTERRA

Learning Objectives

• Describe what ASTERRA does and why satellite-based leak detection matters for water utilities
• Explain how AI is applied to polarimetric satellite radar to find underground moisture
• Identify who uses ASTERRA and how it fits alongside ground-based leak detection

What Is ASTERRA?

ASTERRA is a geospatial analytics company that turns satellite radar imagery into actionable intelligence about water and infrastructure. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, ASTERRA applies polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) combined with AI to detect underground water leaks, map soil moisture, and assess infrastructure risk across enormous areas at once. Because the analysis works from space, a single satellite pass can screen an entire city's buried water network without sending crews to walk every street.

Its core products include Recover, which pinpoints likely underground leak locations for water networks; MasterPlan, which supports long-term infrastructure planning; and EarthWorks, which monitors ground moisture and movement. The same underlying technology can also watch dams and levees for the moisture-driven changes that precede structural failure. A statewide "LeakTracer" contract illustrates the scale at which utilities deploy the platform.

What ASTERRA Does

• Satellite leak detection — analyzes radar imagery to flag likely underground drinking-water leaks across wide service areas (Recover)
• Soil moisture and ground movement — maps subsurface moisture and surface movement to reveal infrastructure risk (EarthWorks)
• Infrastructure planning — supports capital and rehabilitation planning for aging pipe networks (MasterPlan)
• Dam and levee monitoring — watches for moisture-driven changes that can signal failure risk in critical water-retaining structures
• Prioritized field targeting — narrows vast networks down to high-probability zones so ground crews investigate the right places first

How AI Is Applied

ASTERRA's differentiator is genuine satellite-AI. Polarimetric synthetic aperture radar captures how radar signals scatter off and penetrate the ground, and those signals carry subtle clues about subsurface moisture that are invisible to the naked eye. ASTERRA's algorithms process this raw radar data to distinguish the specific spectral signature of treated drinking water from ordinary groundwater, rainfall, or irrigation — then translate that into map-based leak-likelihood zones.

The AI does the heavy lifting of pattern recognition at planetary scale: sifting through massive radar datasets, filtering noise, and ranking areas by the probability that a leak is present underground. Utilities then send crews to those prioritized zones rather than surveying entire networks blindly. This is a real machine-learning and signal-processing capability, not a thin analytics wrapper — the value comes from interpreting radar physics that humans cannot read directly.

Who Uses ASTERRA

ASTERRA serves water utilities and municipalities working to reduce non-revenue water, along with engineering and infrastructure firms, and organizations responsible for dams, levees, and other critical structures. Its buyers are typically utility asset managers, leak-reduction and network teams, and infrastructure planners who need to cover large geographic areas efficiently.

Pricing

ASTERRA is enterprise software with quote-based pricing. Costs depend on the size of the area analyzed, the products selected, and the frequency of satellite passes and reporting. Utilities and infrastructure organizations contact ASTERRA directly for a tailored quote.

Company Details

Strengths

• Massive coverage — a single satellite pass can screen an entire network, with no need to instrument every pipe
• Genuine satellite-AI — interprets polarimetric radar physics that ground methods cannot see
• Proven scale — has located tens of thousands of leaks for water utilities worldwide
• Beyond leaks — the same platform supports soil-moisture mapping, planning, and dam and levee monitoring
• Efficient targeting — focuses limited field crews on the highest-probability zones

Limitations and Considerations

• Confirmation still needed — satellite results identify likely zones; crews must field-verify and pinpoint the exact leak
• Resolution limits — space-based detection flags areas, not exact pipe locations, so it complements rather than replaces ground acoustics
• Revisit cadence — findings reflect the timing of satellite passes, not a continuous real-time feed
• Enterprise scope — quote-based and aimed at utilities and large infrastructure owners, not small operators

Key Takeaways

• ASTERRA uses satellite polarimetric radar and AI to detect underground water leaks, soil moisture, and infrastructure risk across vast areas
• It has located tens of thousands of leaks for water utilities worldwide through products like Recover, MasterPlan, and EarthWorks
• The AI is a real signal-processing and machine-learning capability that reads radar physics humans cannot, prioritizing where crews should investigate
• Best for water utilities and infrastructure owners that need to screen large areas quickly to cut non-revenue water and monitor critical structures