A simple, secure and efficient authentication protocol for real-time earth observation through satellite

The technology of remote sensing, in particular earth observation, is continuously growing since its advent; especially in the last decade, it has attained remarkable advancement. The proof is that now many earth observation satellites, with the courtesy of high-resolution cameras, can provide such images that enable us to identify objects on the surface of the earth with less than 0.5-meter resolution. With this escalation in technology, subsequent applications, as well as the rewards of this technology for human life, are also budding speedily. However, till now earth observation satellites follow the traditional 'store and later download' method for transferring captured images to ground. This method has some limitations, especially from a future perspective. In this paper, we have identified these limitations and presented an alternate idea in which the satellite, instead of storing, broadcasts encrypted images to the ground as soon as they are captured in space. This approach provides three unique features that traditional system lacks: real-time monitoring of a location is possible, the image data is directly accessible to individuals rather than only ground station, and the extra burden is reduced that traditional system puts on satellite for large bandwidth and appropriate fast & high data transfer protocol. For such architecture, we have proposed an authentication protocol so that only legitimate users can utilize satellite image data. We have also analyzed that our protocol is not only secure, simple and efficient, but it also provides fast switching from one satellite to another and consequently least interruption in image reception.