Space organs toshare sat images of disasters
Major space agencies of the world including the Indian Space Research
Organization (ISRO), have announced to build a unified system to transmit real-time satellite pictures globally to monitor the impact of natural calamities.
The decision assumes significance in the context of the earthquake in Pakistan on Saturday. A space official told TOI that satellite pictures would be used to assess the damage and helping the relief operations .The eight-member International Charter on Space and Major disasters includes NASA, the European Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency ,apart from ISRO.
Officials say earth observation satellites provide a comprehensive ,synoptic and multi-temporal coverage of large areas in real time which highlights the nature and impact of disasters.
A Charter board member , Jean-Luc Bessis, has recently been quoted as saying that its functioning is being reviewed to improve its global operations and integrate its various activities for optimal utilization .This would make it more effective.
Since November 2000, the Charter has been activated more than 80 times to assist in emergencies like floods ,fires, landslides. Typhoons, volcanic eruptions and oil spills. With a low response time of 38 to 48 hours, matched with high reliability data ,the charter has confirmed the effectiveness of Space information for emergency management an ISRO spokesperson said.
We can study space and the bodies within it just by looking at the night sky with our own eyes As we leave Earth, our planet stands out against the inky blackness of space .Like all bodies in space, the Earth spins on its axis
But we need the help of telescopes to see the heavens in all their splendour.The telescope in the picture is used at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona ,USA.It has a mirror 2.1 m across ,to gather the light from stars.. The Washington Monument is still visible from a height of 700 km.This image was produced from data sent back by NASA’s Earth –survey satellite, Landsat 4.