IMAGING

FAA grants Pravia Precision Ag UAS exemption

The FAA has posted two grants of exemption for Niceville, Florida-based Pravia to operate the eBee Ag and E384 small unmanned aircraft systems for precision agriculture applications for a domestic agricultural seed company. The proposed operations will include biomass analysis and estimation, yield monitoring, leaf area indexing, and reporting of geographical data and overall crop health.

Sentinel-2A: New eyes of Copernicus ready for space

After six months of intensive testing, the first Sentinel-2 satellite developed and built by Airbus Defence and Space for the European Space Agency (ESA) is getting ready for its mission in space. Sentinel-2A will be the second satellite of the Copernicus programme to be launched. The Copernicus Sentinels supply remote sensing data of the Earth to deliver key operational services related to environment and security. www.airbusdefenceandspace.com

DigitalGlobe, UNOOSA to collaborate

DigitalGlobe has signed a MOU with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to combine their expertise in the use of earth observation technologies for economic, social, and scientific development and improved decision-making, particularly in developing countries. Both will work to develop an online platform to provide easy access to imagery catalogues as well as data and analytical services specifically tailored for the needs of the UN. DigitalGlobe

Base map of Middle East using Landsat 8 imagery released

PlanetObserver has released a new range of country base maps of Middle East processed from fresh Landsat 8 imagery. The PlanetSAT 15 L8 maps offer 15-metre resolution, processed in natural colours from orthorectified Landsat 8 imagery.

PCI Geomatics Implements Support for KazEOSat-1

PCI Geomatics has implemented support for KazEOSat-1, an Earth Observation satellite owned and operated by the Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary (KGS), a division of Kazcosmos. KazEOSat-1 is capable of producing imagery of up to 1-meter panchromatic and 4-meter multispectral. www.pcigeomatics.com

DARPA to monitor Arctic land, sea, and air traffic

Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., released a solicitation for the Future Arctic Sensing Technologies project, which seeks to capitalize on commercially developed technologies to monitor the Arctic region for military activity. For this project DARPA remote sensing experts are asking for proposals for low-cost unmanned air, surface, and subsurface sensing systems for the Arctic, including ways to deliver sensor information to remote sites.

The Arctic increasingly sees military and commercial activity, yet U.S. capabilities to monitor these activities are limited, DARPA researchers say. The Arctic has little fixed infrastructure to support sustained operations, and remote-sensing systems must be rugged and durable enough to operate in the harsh Arctic cold. www.fbo.gov

Indian state MP to get national award for remote sensing plan

The Union Government of India has selected Madhya Pradesh for National Award in the category of Best Practices in the remote sensing plan while lauding innovations being adopted for result-oriented implementation of Integrated Watershed Area Management Programme. Watershed projects in the State are being implemented under Integrated Watershed Area Management Programme. It is funded by Land Resources Department of Union Rural Development Ministry. Its main objective is conservation and augmentation of water as well as soil conservation in areas of rainfed agriculture so that increase in agriculture production and sustainable rural livelihoods can be ensured. Apart from surveys like PRA and Net Plan, planning based on remote sensing and GIS has also been adopted. Android mobile-based application ‘WMGO’ is being used ensuring quality of watershed works and their constant monitoring. www.nyoooz.com

NASA launches groundbreaking soil moisture mapping satellite

NASA successfully launched its first Earth satellite designed to collect global observations of the vital soil moisture hidden just beneath our feet. The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory, a mission with broad applications for science and society from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. SMAP now begins a three-year mission that will figuratively scratch below Earth’s surface to expand our understanding of a key component of the Earth system that links the water, energy and carbon cycles driving our living planet. SMAP’s combined radar and radiometer instruments will peer into the top 2 inches (5 centimeters) of soil, through clouds and moderate vegetation cover, day and night, to produce the highest-resolution, most accurate soil moisture maps ever obtained from space. www.spacedaily.com