Australia widens scope for satellite monitoring

Australia will have access to a new source of Earth-observing satellite information from India’s remote sensing satellite, Resourcesat-1.

The Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, said Resourcesat-1 will be used by federal and state governments for exploration, topographic mapping, monitoring of crops and forests and to map floods and fires in emergency situations.

“Remote sensing information is a vital resource for monitoring changes in the land, the coastal zone and at times for emergency response. Australia relies heavily on this type of satellite information, particularly from the US Landsat satellites. Having access to more sources means more effective and reliable monitoring for government and industry sectors,” said Ferguson.

Geoscience Australia will use its ground station at Alice Springs and Hobart to receive moderate resolution data from two of the instruments on board the Indian satellite: the linear imaging self scanner (LISS-3) and the advanced wide field sensor (AWiFS). LISS-3 has a resolution of 24 m with a 140 km swath and a 24-day revisit cycle. AMiFS resolution is 50 to 70 m with a 740 km swath, enabling repeat images on a weekly basis.