Beijing plans Earth Resource III
According to the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping in Beijing, China shall launch a satellite carrying the country’s first stereo mapping camera. Earth Resource III will be launched in the first half of 2011. http://en.sbsm.gov.cn

ISRO gets 40% more funds
India’s space research programme recently got a signifi cant 40% boost from the union budget for 2009-10. The bulk of the funds will be used in ongoing projects like development of the GSLV Mark III. www.domain-b.com

Chandrayaan-1 completes mission
The Indian Space Research Organisation has completed all the primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-1 lunar reconnaissance mission. The scientifi c objective of the spacecraft was remote sensing of the Moon in visible, near infra-red, low energy x-ray and high-energy x-ray regions. The intention is to prepare a 3-D atlas of both the near and far side of the moon, with a high spatial and altitude resolution – down to fi ve metres in the optical. www.isro.org

Yaogan 6 launched
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation have recently launched the Yaogan 6 remote sensing satellite. It will mainly be used for land resources survey, environmental surveillance and protection, urban planning, crop yield estimates, disaster prevention and reduction, and space science experiments. Xinhua Agency

RISAT – ISRO’s SAR satellite, launched
ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C12), on April 20, 2009 successfully placed two satellites – RISAT-2 and ANUSAT – in the desired orbit. RISAT-2 is a Radar Imaging Satellite with the capability to take images of the earth during day and night as well as cloudy conditions. This satellite will enhance ISRO’s capability for earth observation, especially during disaster management. ANUSAT, built by Anna University, Chennai is the first experimental communication satellite built by an Indian University under the guidance of ISRO and will demonstrate the technologies related to message store and forward operations. www.isro.org

GeoEye sign reseller contracts. Beijing Earth Observation reseller in China

GeoEye, Inc. has signed agreements with several international resellers to provide high-resolution, satellite imagery and value-added products from its new GeoEye-1 Earth-imaging satellite to customers in China, Middle East, Turkey and Russia. Beijing Earth Observation, China has signed a new agreement with GeoEye to receive data from the GeoEye-1. www.geoeye.com

Satellite built by Indian university to be launched in ISRO’s next flight
For the first time in the history of Indian space research, a satellite developed by a university in India will be launched by Indian Space Research Institute (ISRO) during the next flight of the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) in March-April this year. It will carry a small remote sensing satellite – Anusat, developed and fabricated by Chennai-based Anna University. www.business-standard.com

MapMart unveils one-stop portal
IntraSearch Inc. unveiled a new interface on its MapMart online mapping portal where satellite imagery customers can search, preview and order high-resolution data from DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, SPOT and KOMPSAT. www.mapmart.com

JAXA joins UNESCO World Heritage Initiative
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has joined a partnership with UNESCO, under which it will mobilise the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) for the study and safeguarding of World Heritage sites. UNESCO member states, mainly in Asia, can now access JAXA technology for activities conducted as part of the Open Initiative on the Use of Space Technologies for World Heritage Sites. www.unesco.org

PIL demands removal of country’s images from Google Earth
Public interest litigation was filed in the Bombay High Court in India, has taken exception to easy access to satellite images of the vital installations in the country through Google Earth. The petition filed by Mumbai-based lawyer Amit Karkhanis has demanded removal of images of the country from Google Earth. The petition is filed against the backdrop of terror attacks in Mumbai. The petition is likely to come up for hearing on December 18.