Abstract The first pictures of the earth were taken from a balloon in the mid-19th century and thus started ‘earth observation’. Aerial missions in the 20th century enabled the build-up of outstanding photographic libraries and then with Landsat-1, the first civilian satellite launched in 1972, digital images of the earth became an operational reality. The main roles of earth observation have become scientific, economic and strategic, and the role of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is significant in this overall framework. Radar image exploitation has matured and several operational programs regularly use SAR data for input and numerous applications are being further developed. The technological development of interferometry and polarimetry has helped further develop these radar based applications. This paper highlights this role through a description of actual applications and projects, and concludes with a discussion of some challenges for which SAR systems may provide significant assistance.