IMAGING

BRICS to set up remotesensing satellite network

China will work with Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa to establish a network of remote-sensing satellites to help to deal with global challenges such as climate change, major disasters and environmental deterioration.

The heads of national space agencies in BRICS countries met recently via video link and signed the Agreement on the Cooperation on BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation. The agreement enables cooperation among BRICS space agencies to build a network of remote sensing satellites as a data-sharing mechanism.

China National Space Administration proposed the space-based network’s establishment in 2015 and worked with its counterparts in other BRICS nations to realize it. The network will consist of several operational satellites, including China’s CBERS 4 and Gaofen 6, as well as India’s Resourcesat-2.

Ground stations in Brazil’s Cuiaba, India’s Shadnagar–Hyderabad, China’s Sany, South Africa’s Hartebeesthoek and Moscow will receive data from the satellites. The network will become the first joint effort by BRICS countries in space-based infrastructure. www.ecns.cn

RS observations to find potential unexplored archeological sites in UAE

Khalifa University of Science and Technology has announced that researchers at its Environmental and Geophysical Sciences (ENGEOS) Lab have used satellite remote sensing observations to detect buried objects in already known archaeological sites and to identify potentially unexplored archaeological sites in the UAE by applying machine learning techniques to satellite data.

The novel method, which combines satellite data and machine learning, was developed at Khalifa University and can be applied to similar desert environments in the UAE and elsewhere. With this technology, the researchers were able to find a new potential area, unexplored yet by classic methods. This area is buried under the ground and is located on the opposite side of the current excavations.

Results from the ENGEOS research project led by Dr. Diana Francis, head of ENGEOS Lab, show that radar imaging allows direct detection and characterization of known as well as potentially novel buried archaeological sites. Researchers use satellite-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) at very high resolution that can detect features of the size of one meter that might be buried in the subsurface (less than two meters) under optimum conditions, that is, dry and bare soils such as the soil at Saruq Al Hadid site. Moreover, remotely sensed data are well-suited for supporting regional archaeology, as well as tracking of environmental factors that influence archaeology.

Based on the machine learning techniques and deep learning analyses conducted during this work, the ENGEOS Lab was able to find potential areas for further on-site investigation. http://wam.ae

Second Pléiades Neo remote sensing satellite

Pléiades Neo 4, the second satellite of the Pléiades Neo Earth observation constellation, was successfully launched by Arianespace’s European launcher Vega from French Guiana.

The satellite will be phased 180° with Pléiades Neo 3 on the same orbit to start forming a constellation. This will enable daily imaging of any place on Earth at 30cm native resolution, and between two and four times a day when the foursatellite constellation is complete.

Comprising four identical satellites, the 100% Airbus manufactured, owned and operated Pléiades Neo constellation offers a native resolution of 30cm with an imaging swath of 14km, the widest in its category. www.airbus.com