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Remote Sensing - Down The Memory Lane…
GLOBAL REMOTE SENSING ORGANISATIONS
Among the first organizations to be setup for with the sole purpose of space research was the U.S.A's National Aeronautics And Space Administration, (NASA) in late 1950's. This was closely followed by The French civilian space program managed by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), which was established in 1962.
Government of India set up Space Commission and Department of Space (DOS) in June 1972. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under DOS executes Space programme through its establishments located in different places in India.
http://www.isro.org
The Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC) was established in August 1975 to promote social economy and the well being of the nation's citizenry http://www.restec.or.jp/
Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing (MACRES) was officially established in August 1988 and fully operationalised in January 1990. http://www.macres.gov.my
The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) is a civilian authority within the purview of the Executive Office of the President of Brazil, established by law on February 10, 1994. http://www.agespacial.gov.br/
NARSS, The National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences is the pioneering Egyptian institution in the field of satellite remote sensing established in 1994 http://www.narss.org
The other major organizations are
The Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Natural Resources Canada http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca
The Thailand: Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) http://www.gistda.or.th
The British National Space Centre (BNSC) formed from 11 Government Departments and Research Councils, to coordinate. UK civil space activity with a budget of around £188 million per year http://www.bnsc.gov.uk
German Aerospace Center DLR http://www.dlr.de/dlr/
Geoscience Australia - is Australia's national agency for geoscience research and geospatial information. It is located within the Industry, Tourism and Resources portfolio. http://www.ga.gov.au
The Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP) is a research centre of the National University of Singapore established with funding from the Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR) of Singapore.
The National Remote Sensing Center of China (NRSCC) is a subdivision of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) http://www.nrscc.gov.cn/english/about.asp
Recent development in the field of remote sensing
Three recent developments in particular are fuelling great interest and activity in the field (http://www.asprs.org/). First, there is substantial research and development underway in the area of hyperspectral remote sensing, which involves systems that sense in literally hundreds of very narrow spectral bands simultaneously. This approach greatly increases the information and detail that can be obtained about objects on the earth's surface. Second, a series of recently launched satellite-borne remote sensing systems form NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS), which is a primary component of the Earth Science Enterprise (ESE). The ESE is an international earth science program aimed at proving the observations, understanding, and modelling capabilities needed to assess the impacts of both natural events and human-induced activities on the earth's environment (www.earth.nasa.gov/).
A third major influence on the field of remote sensing today is the launch of commercial high-resolution earth-orbiting systems. Most are also pointable, with their optical systems being controlled by ground command. This will enable frequent observation of areas that are not directly below the satellite and it will also allow the collection of stereoscopic (3D) data e.g. Cartosat-1, which is equipped for near simultaneous stereoscopic coverage at 2.5m resolution (http://www.gisdevelopment.net/technology/rs/techrs023.htm) These high-resolution systems are will provide a quantum jump in the commercial applications of remote sensing, and hence the demand for professionals in the field. In all, some 45 new satellites remote sensing systems are planned for launch over the next three years (www.ersc.wisc.edu/ersc/).
In the near future:
Indian government approves Oceansat-2 mission : In an important decision, the Indian Cabinet approved the project to design and develop the Oceansat-2 mission that envisages the building and launching of a remote sensing satellite with an Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a Ku-band Scatterometer as payloads. The mission will involve a total estimated cost of Rs 129.15 crore (about $32 million) with a foreign exchange component of Rs 86 crore (about $21 million). With the realisation of the Oceansat-2 mission, India will have the wherewithal to cover many applications pertaining to ocean and meteorology.
Environmental satellite GOES-N to be launched by U.S.A's NOAA: Environmental satellite GOES-N is expected to be launched by the end of June by NOAA. GOES-N, like the rest of NOAA's satellites, will help to gauge the pulse of the world's changing environment and strengthen the Global Earth Observation System of Systems.
China-made satellite to improve weather forecasting: Errors in short-term weather forecasting will be greatly reduced when a meteorological satellite is put into formal use next month. The Fengyun-2C was launched last October as the country's first international-quality satellite. The weather monitor has been in orbiting on a trial basis over Malaysia since its launch. China will launch the Fengyun-2D, a more advanced orbiter, in the fall of next year
Japanese satellite to monitor Asian natural disasters: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans to launch a satellite to monitor natural disasters in Asia, said Toshio Doura, Director of Earth Observation Research and Application Centre.
The launching of the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), which had been delayed several times, would take-off in September, he was quoted by Bernama as saying. The satellite is designed to observe and map the earth's surface, enhance cartography, monitor natural disasters and survey land use and natural resources to promote sustainable development.
Saudi Arabia set to launch six mini satellites: Saudi Arabia will launch either by the end of this year or early next year six mini satellites for a range of applications, including the location of water and mineral sources, environmental pollution control, urban planning, agricultural production and weather observation.
They are part of a group of 24 mini satellites manufactured and designed in the Kingdom by a team of Saudi scientists and engineers as part of a program to harness space technology for commercial purposes, according to Prince Turki Ibn Saud, vice president of King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) Research Institutes
S.Korea to develop maritime observation satellite: South Korea will embark on a plan this month to develop a maritime observation satellite capable of providing data on waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula, reported South Korean Yonhap News Agency. The envisioned geostationary satellite will be jointly designed and constructed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute and Astrium, a French satellite maker.
China, Pakistan to launch small satellite next year: A multi-purpose small satellite, developed by China, Pakistan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Mongolia, South Korea and Iran will be launched in 2006. It will be used to carry out scientific experiments and environmental observations for countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The State media said that China would also send a communication satellite owned by a Hong Kong company into space during the first half of this year.
Till a decade ago, all the remotely sensed satellite data came from government owned agencies and political ideology of the few countries who had the resources decided the availability of the data to the less fortunate ones. With the entry of the private industry as a data provider, this is no longer a constraint. Today almost every developing country has an independent or collaborative program in remote sensing which in some instances rivals those of the developed nations. It is a technology, which though expensive, no one can do without, so it is not the cost of the technology but rather the cost of not having it that matters.
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