New approach to improve the integration of earth observation data

[Date: 2013-05-21]

One of the fundamental challenges in the 21st Century is to achieve a greater understanding of the complex interactions between environment and human society. To meet this challenge, the social and environmental sciences need to be better integrated, to move from disciplinary to multidisciplinary research and close the gap between citizens, scientists and policy makers.

The EU-funded EuroGEOSS project ('European approach to GEOSS'), with EUR 6 million in European funding, asked: what kind of information systems do we need to facilitate this major multi-disciplinary research effort? And, how we can best support closer interaction among specialists from different fields, as well as non-specialist stakeholders?

The project worked specifically within the context of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), which is supposed to provide a framework for integrating the world's earth observation efforts. GEOSS is an initiative of the Group of Earth Observations (GEO), which includes 90 countries and over 60 international organisations.

New Animation Marks Arrival of NASA's LDCM Satellite to its Final Orbit

by Holli Riebeek for Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 22, 2013

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA's Earth Observatory. Download video in HD formats.

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to watch the world fly by beneath you from space? That dream is elusive for most of us, but the Landsat Data Continuity Mission offers a vicarious flight with a crisper view than our eyes alone would be capable of if we were in space. That view is now available in a new NASA animation.
After two months of on-orbit testing and calibration, LDCM fired its propulsion system on April 12, 2013, and ascended to its final orbit 438 miles (705 km) above Earth. The animation, made from scenes taken a week later on April 19, allows viewers to fly with the satellite from its final operating orbit.
A 15-minute animation shows 56 Landsat scenes that have been stitched together into a seamless view from Russia to South Africa. The animation was produced at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

One Year Anniversary of KOMPSAT-3 Launch

Daejeon, South Korea (SPX) May 30, 2013

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Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has announced successful operation of KOMPSAT-3 for one year since its launch on May 18, 2012.
For the first year of operation, the performance of KOMPSAT-3 was validated, and the worldwide commercial service was launched through Satrec Initiative, since April 1, 2013.KOMPSAT-3 is the first sub-meter satellite of Korea and developed by KARI as a successor of KOMPSAT-2 for VHR EO data continuity.
With KOMPSAT-3 program, KARI has achieved substantial technical improvements comparing previous programs in terms of resolution and agility.
KOMPSAT-3 can provide sub-meter images with various imaging modes including single pass stereo. It will continue to provide sub-meter imagery to domestic and international users for the applications of public safety, resource management, environmental monitoring, location-based services, intelligence and disaster monitoring.