Nabtaplaya Institute

Located in Germany, the research institute of NabtaPlaya is founded according to the German Federal Law § 52 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 AO with the purpose of the association to promote science and research in the field of Space technology specifically in the analysis of Earth Observation Data. Data Science is at the core of our software innovation research by studying thousands of gigabytes of satellite data. We support basic research in the interest of the general public in the Space related downstream applications. The inspiration of the name 'NabtaPlaya' came from a historical story that relates to our research purposes of today. For thousands of years, ancient societies all around the world erected massive stone circles, aligning them with the sun and stars to mark the seasons. These early calendars foretold the coming of spring, summer, fall and winter, helping civilizations track when to plant and harvest crops. Located in Africa, Nabta Playa stands some 800 kilometers south of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. It was built more than years ago, making Nabta Playa the oldest stone circle in the world — and possibly Earth’s oldest astronomical observatory.