This is what Andiras Muller, who is responsible for building the satellite and its scientific instruments, said in a lecture he gave to the students and lecturers of the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Tel Aviv University
Muller presented three projects at the conference: a new satellite, an aerial camera and an image processing system that aims to help users extract as much information as possible from the photographs, while the software corrects angles, atmospheric disturbances and more.
But as mentioned, the important issue is the satellite that Muller is responsible for the technological side of its construction - EnMAP - (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program). The project is now after the feasibility phase both technologically and economically, but before its construction phase. If everything goes as planned, the German Space Agency hopes to launch the satellite in 2011.
The goal of the mission, according to Muller, is to provide hyperspectral imaging data (that is, images in a very wide spectrum range) on a regular and frequent basis. "The main goals of the project are to study as wide a range as possible of environmental parameters that indicate the state of agriculture, forests, soil and the geological environment, coastal areas and inland water reservoirs. The new camera developed for the satellite will significantly increase our understanding of integrated biospheric and geospheric processes, and thus We will be able to manage and ensure conservation of the essential resources.
The main points of the mission
• Use of hyperspectral sensors based on existing technology or that is in advanced development.
• Wide spectral range - from 420 nanometers to 1030 nanometers (VNIR - near infrared) and a second device in the more distant range - SWIR, from 950 to 2450 nanometers, with high radiometric resolution and stability in both spectrum ranges. By the way, the overlap is intended to obtain a continuous image of the same object in all possible bandwidths, in contrast to the devices that are currently on satellites and which sample several wavelengths, and gaps are created along the way.
• The width of the beam, with a large spatial resolution, is 30 kilometers, with the possibility of rotating the satellite with the camera inside it by 30 degrees to photograph, although from a different angle, the same area 4 days later (normally, the satellite will always return to the same point and from the same angle every 26 days ).
• The memory of the camera inside the satellite will be enough to survey a strip of a thousand kilometers long in each orbit - a total of 5,000 kilometers per day (assuming that only one ground station will be used).
Prof. Eyal Ben Dor, head of the geography department at Tel Aviv University, says that "Müller's main messages are that hyperspectroscopy, as a remote sensing method, is an innovative technology, promising in many fields such as monitoring the quality of the environment, agriculture, identifying resources and also for security needs. The technology is developing very much in the world. Germany is one of the leaders in the field and one of the bodies that lead the field is DLR - the Space and Aeronautics Agency The German and GFC is the body that scientifically manages the project. The director of the scientific field, Herman Kaufman, will also arrive in Israel soon (March 11) and give the scientific lecture."
"Being so, the Germans have invested a lot of money and are developing two tools - one is a hyperspectral sensor that will be placed in space, and will be the first hyperspectral satellite with a very high level of spectral and spatial accuracy. It will be scientifically available. They are considering that it will also be commercially available in certain areas of the world, according to research proposals. The satellite Will be launched in 2011. The second field is the air field. They have a sensor that is very similar to a sensor that will be placed on a satellite, but With a much higher level of accuracy, the thermal field (infrared) will also be added. It has not been touched in the thermal field, with the exception of night vision. You will be able to add information in this field, thus expanding the range of targets in the atmosphere and on the ground There is a lot of activity of science, technology, they have a fleet of planes and many government budgets."
Can the German satellite be compared to the Israeli Venus satellite which is under construction?
Prof. Ben Dor: "There is nothing to compare. This will be a leap forward compared to Venus. A bonus will be the ability to simultaneously watch 12 channels. You can't do much with 12 channels. There is nothing to compare at all. Venus is an upgraded And-sat, And this is a shot in several counts. Venus is a technological initiative on an old idea of El Op. It is interesting from the point of view of the Israeli community, but not for the hyperspectral community that needs a narrow channel width Channels, and also channels in the thermal field, other processing technologies, looking for other things, finding other things, other capabilities."
One response
It's nice to know that the Germans are leading this field. In my opinion, the field of "estimating the amount of minerals and not just their existence" will have more civilian uses. Civilian use can be manifested in mining companies, perhaps oil companies, agriculture, fresh water, and many other fields.