Free Amazon-1 Satellite Images

Images of the Amazon-1, the first satellite developed entirely in Brazil, to be launched in 2013 and will feature powerful cameras to monitor tropical forests, will be offered free of charge to neighboring countries, official sources said today. The images from the Amazon-1 also will be included in the Brazilian policy of free access to satellite data, said the head of the Division of Sea, Antarctica and Space of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fabio Pitaluga was quoted in a statement the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). This policy, which pioneered the world INPE in 2004, was defended by the diplomat on Wednesday during the opening ceremony of the annual meeting of the Group of Earth Observation (GEO, for its acronym in English) in Istanbul (Turkey).

In his speech, the minister highlighted the various initiatives of INPE to share its satellite images with other countries and transferring technology to the neighbors, said the state agency a statement. "Brazil believes in an open data policy libres.Brasil, which adopted this policy for all Earth observation satellites, launched in 2013 the Amazon-1, a satellite that aims to monitor the forest and agriculture in tropical regions of the world, "said Pitaluga in his speech to the members of the GEO, the intergovernmental organization which aims to set up a global system for distribution of satellite data. "Brazil has developed an open source software to process surveillance images remote and analyze geographic information and spatial data. Such software is already widely used in Latin America and we aim to expand its use to other developing nations of Asia and Africa, "the diplomat added.

In addition to providing data from their satellites, the INPE help in the training of technicians from the countries that benefit from free access to the images. The free offer of images began in 2004 with CBERS data (the set of satellites developed, launched and operated jointly by Brazil and China) and it was extended to all other satellites operated by INPE him, including the Amazon-1. "Brazil bets on technology transfer for the monitoring of tropical forests to other developing nations. We are helping other countries to develop their ability to measure and monitor forest carbon stocks, "according Pitaluga. The Amazonia-1 will increase the accuracy of the software developed by Brazil to monitor deforestation of tropical forests by analyzing satellite images. This is because the Brazilian AWFI optical camera (Advanced Wide Field Imager) which is equipped with the ability to operate on the fringes of the visible and the infrared, and will have a resolution of 40 meters and a capacity to take pictures of areas up to 780 kilometers.

The satellite will also feature a camera RALCam-3 developed in England and able to produce images with resolution of 12 meters in areas of 110 km. Pitaluga used his speech to thank the GEO's decision to organize its next annual meeting in the Brazilian city Foz do Iguassu late next year.

SOURCE LaEstrella