Canada: Canadian Industry Minister James Moore has announced support for the development of new earth observation (EO) products that will provide crucial data to better manage the natural resources.
The investment of close to $6.7 million will position Canadian industry to optimally utilise the data from Canadian Space Agency-supported earth observation missions. CSA’s Radarsat-2 and Radarsat-2 provides the radar imaging needed for managing natural resources and monitoring the environment in the 21st century.
"Canada has a proud history in space and has long been a leader in the important and growing field of Earth observation. The investments announced today will help provide important information so we can better understand our planet while creating jobs and contributing to the growth of Canada's reputable space industry,” Moore said.
The new technologies developed will enhance radar data from EO satellites to more accurately monitor Canada's natural environment to help keep Canadians safe and grow the economy. The minister said that the information will be used to help the agricultural industry monitor crops and forecast yields; map Canada's wetlands, study river ice; monitor forest inventory; monitor pipelines and oil and gas transportation; and monitor natural disasters such as floods and landslides.
He also mentioned that CSA has awarded contracts to 12 Canadian companies including MDA Systems, 3vGeomatics, MDA Geospatial Surveillance and Intelligence (GSI), ASL Environmental Sciences, Array Systems Computing, Kepler Space., Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), AECOM, GHGSat, PCI Geomatics, Effigis Geo Solutions and C-CORE.
Source: CSA
