Esri and DOI Introduce Landsat Data for the World

File image.

by Staff Writers Redlands CA (SPX) May 04, 2011

Working in close collaboration with the US Department of the Interior (DOI), Esri is pleased to announce the release of Landsat image services. These provide access to almost four decades' worth of Global Land Survey (GLS) Landsat data developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and DOI's US Geological Survey. Esri provides access to the full multispectral, multitemporal Landsat data for free on ArcGIS Online as dynamic image services.
"These Landsat image services expand the ability to monitor landscape change to Internet users worldwide," says Jack Dangermond, president of Esri.
"We're excited to showcase this valuable government resource that uses ArcGIS to rapidly deliver Landsat data so that it can be used to help users understand changes in the world."
Esri has also published an interactive website that leverages these Landsat image services to provide a starting point for understanding earth changes over time.
"The Esri Landsat services suite will enable users to access satellite images of the earth and see through time what's happened to our globe," stated Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes.
"Whether you're a fourth grader or in the midst of writing your PhD thesis, having the ability to go back 30 years and visualize multitemporal earth imagery can be tremendously helpful in answering questions about how we should manage the planet and address real-world problems."
The Landsat image services from Esri leverage the 40-year, multibillion-dollar US government investment in the collection and archiving of continuous worldwide Landsat imagery for earth observation.
At 30-meter spatial resolution, Landsat imagery is excellent for mapping regional trends in climate change, agriculture, wildlife habitat, forestry, regional planning, coastal zones, and national security. Each Landsat satellite image also "sees" more than humans by collecting data in nonvisible wavelengths such as the infrared and optical (natural color) portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
source:  http://www.spacedaily.com

ESA expands its Earth-exploring service

Antarctica's Drygalski Ice Tongue

3 May 2011
Since 2006 ESA has been making satellite images of Earth available to anyone wanting to explore the planet in near-real time. ESA has now added nearly 13 000 radar images to the service, bringing the number of viewing possibilities to about 58 000.

The MIRAVI service tracks ESA’s Envisat satellite around the globe, generates images from the raw data collected by its instruments and provides them online free of charge within two hours.  

"We have been very pleased with the number of people using MIRAVI to explore our planet. This enthusiasm inspired us to offer new images that provide different types of information," said ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes Volker Liebig.
 

	Scandinavia in spring (MERIS)

Until recently, MIRAVI provided optical images from Envisat’s MERIS instrument that not only afforded visitors the possibility to discover the beauty of the planet but also to witness natural events, like volcanic eruptions, in progress. To date, nearly 45 000 optical images have been made available. With the addition of radar images from the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar, it is now possible to observe oil spills, ice-berg calving, flooding and sea ice.
The radar is able to provide unique views of these elusive events because it is able to peer through clouds and darkness – conditions often found in the polar regions – and is particularly sensitive to the smooth water surface caused by oil spills.
 

New MIRAVI interface

To enjoy the service, simply visit the MIRAVI website - http://www.esa.int/miravi - and either browse the very latest images by clicking on the snapshots to the left, or view a specific location by selecting an area on the world map or entering its geographic coordinates. Users are able to search for optical or radar (mostly black and white) images or both simultaneously. Since its launch in 2002, Envisat – the largest Earth observation satellite ever built – has been providing scientists with the most detailed picture yet of the state of the planet.
 

	Clearcutting in Brazil

Its unique combination of 10 different instruments collects data about Earth’s atmosphere, land, sea and ice – providing a wealth of information on the Earth System, including insights into factors contributing to climate change. MIRAVI is based on a system for generating and publishing satellite images that is designed and distributed by Chelys.

source:  http://www.esa.int

Imaging Notes

 
Spring edition is out. Contents:

• Kass Green Executive Interview
• The Web of Geospatial Collaboration
• Satellite Sentinel Project
• The New Paradigm
• Lifting the Canopy Veil
• USDA's NAIP Imagery Proves Indispensible

source: http://www.imagingnotes.com/

Space Policy Primer: Principles, Issues, and Actors

An excellent "wrap up" of practically all aspects of the issue in subject,
by Lieutenant Colonel Michael P. Gleason, Ph.D.
A Primer of the Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies @ USAF Academy

available at: http://web.mac.com/rharrison5/Eisenhower_Center_for_Space_and_Defense_Studies/Space_Policy_Primer_files/Space%20Policy%20Primer%20022810.pdf

Space for Earth, and for its Security and Defence

Since it was first established, CNES has been driving and implementing
France’s space strategy for defence, through the provision
of increasingly advanced technologies and satellites. Today it also
provides this service for Europe.
As critical tools for collecting and analysing vast quantities of hitherto
inaccessible data, satellites help us gain a better understanding of our
environment. In an ever-more complex world, where interdependence
and the scarcity of certain resources may lead to tensions, satellites
meet the needs of both civil and military policymakers and enable the
latter to take effective, informed decisions. Providing for intelligence
gathering, telecommunications, surveillance at a global level and in
all weather conditions, not to mention independent access to space;
these are the main security and defence challenges.
What is the world’s current status from a geostrategic point of view?
Which satellites participate in national and European defence and
security policy, and what role do they play? How is mastery of space
crucial to a sovereign Europe? You can find the answers to these
questions in the pages of this booklet: http://www.cnes.fr/automne_modules_files/pPublications/public/r3238_37_intercnesan.pdf

source: CNES

Global Military Space

Futron published it's 2009 Space Competitiveness Index (SCI)
From this analysis/assessment study milsatmagazine.com posted content, focused on Global Military Space.
Follow the link below to see the article.

http://www.milsatmagazine.com/cgi-bin/display_article.cgi?number=875113067


source: www.milsatmagazine.com

Military Space in Europe: Issues and Constraints

A particularly interesting presentation about the issue in subject.

Follow the link and view/download the presentation in pdf.

www.ifri.org/downloads/comptes_rendu/fichiers/58/xpasco.pdf

source: www.ifri.org