The first 100% Brazilian satellite, Amazonia 1, which will provide data on deforestation, was launched in India on Sunday. On the same day, a Soyuz rocket took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It carried the first Russian satellite to monitor the Arctic climate on board.
The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) is a Brazilian research center. He announced ” the successful launch of Amazonia 1, at 01:54 (04:54 GMT) this Sunday from the Satish Dhawan space center in Sriharikota, India ». A video released by the Russian space agency Roscosmos shows the launch of the Soyuz rocket in a gray sky at 06:55 GMT, carrying an Arktika-M satellite.
A satellite to fight against deforestation in the Amazon
Amazonia 1 will be the third satellite to join the DETER system. This INPE program monitors real-time deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. ” Amazonia 1 will provide images for monitoring the environment and agriculture throughout Brazil (…). It will also be used to monitor the coastal region, water reserves, environmental disasters, among other applications ”, detailed the INPE which worked for eight years in the development of the national satellite.
The Brazilian Amazon rainforest lost 8,426 km2 in 2020 due to deforestation. Although this figure is 8% lower than the previous year, it remains extremely worrying in the opinion of specialists. The latter question the policies of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. INPE receives daily low-resolution satellite images of forest clearing, agricultural expansion and land use. Therefore, he can quickly alert the police to suspicious activity.
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A satellite to monitor the Arctic climate
The space hydrometeorological and climatic monitoring system is called ” Arctic ». It is ” designed to monitor the climate and environment in the Arctic region ”, Roscosmos said in a statement.
This system will require at least two satellites to function properly, again according to the space agency. ” They will provide permanent surveillance, in all weathers, of the surface of the Earth and the seas of the Arctic Ocean ”. The launch of the second Arktika-M satellite is scheduled for 2023, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.
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The economic development of the Arctic is one of the main objectives of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Arctic holds enormous reserves of oil and gas. Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway in particular are already fighting over them. And that race is growing as global warming accelerates the melting of the ice cap. Last month, British scientists found that ice was disappearing from polar areas at a rate corresponding to ” worst case scenarios of global warming ”. This concerns in particular the ice of the Arctic Ocean.
Matthieu combe with AFP
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