ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: This chapter summarizes more than forty years of scientific, technological and societal trends leading to current practices for Earth observations from space. All sectors of society are participating in a global common cause to use near-Earth space environments to collect and warehouse whatever data are needed to better understand disease transmission mechanisms, human exposures to air, water, soil, and vector-borne diseases, and to promote health and wellbeing. Subsequent chapters show how this common cause has stimulated environmental tracking for public health surveillance.
