Cartography is (from ancient Greek: χάρτης chartēs, "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and γράφειν graphein, "write") the study and practice of creating and using maps.

One of the important areas of activity of CAST is cartography. Aerial photographs have traditionally been used to create and update topographic maps. Recently, space images have come to the fore as a basic basis for topographic mapping.

There are several main trends that contribute to the active use of remote sensing data in cartography:

• a large number of remote sensing satellites in orbit, including ultra-high-resolution spacecraft, and therefore a large selection of data with a variety of characteristics;
• increase in positioning accuracy without field binding up to 3-4 m;
• high performance and high speeds of transmission of shooting results;
• reduction of data delivery time to the consumer - development of the concept of "virtual stations";
• wide use of network technologies and capabilities, creation of Internet services that provide direct access to data;
• quite low cost of remote sensing data, as well as low costs for their processing compared to aerial photography and geodetic methods.