Abstract:Modern remote sensing generally refers to the use of satellite- or aircraft-based sensor technologies to detect objects on earth and subsequent digital imaging presentations by the specific spectral information. Remote sensing has become the critical technique to explore the earth system sciences and multidisciplinary spatial information applications. In this study, we provided a brief review on the principles, applications and progresses for the major remote sensing technologies, and focused on the characteristics and important technical breakthroughs for high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution remote sensing. We introduced remote sensing applications in economics, ecologies, defenseand so on, and also forecasted several major directions and trends for future remote sensing.