Remote Sensing Activities Of
Nasda In Southeast Asia Eiichi
MUTO Director, NASDA Bangkok Office RM.1312, B.B.BLDG., 54 Asoke RD., Sukhumvit 21, Bangkok 10110 Tel: (66)-2-260-7026 Fax: (66)-2-260-7027 THAILAND E-mail:nasdatha@ksc15.th.com Key Words: Remote Sensing, Southeast Asia, NASDA, Development, Earth Observation Abstract: National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) was established 31 years ago to act as the nucleus for the development of space and to promote the peaceful use of space. NASDA is responsible for the following tasks: Development of satellites (including space experiments and the space station) and launch vehicles, launching and tracking the craft. Development of methods, facilities and equipment required for the above. NASDA is developing earth observation satellites, such as ADEOS-II and ALOS. ADEOS-II is being developed to help answer question on the global environment; a theme of common concern to all humanity. ALOS is a satellite following JERS-1 and ADEOS, which will utilize advanced land observing technology. ALOS will be used for cartography, regional observation, disaster monitoring and resource surveying. ALOS has three remote-sensing instruments: the Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) for digital elevation mapping, the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2) for precise land coverage observation, and the Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) for day-and-night and all-weather land observation. NASDA is conducting the pilot projects for public use in cooperation with related governmental agencies in Thailand and Indonesia. Purpose of the pilot projects is to promote operational data use for governmental and administrative purposes through data analysis technologies development. In the pilot projects, we are developing and researching particular application for each participating agency, and we are expecting that the results should be useful in the governmental activities. The results from the pilot projects could be reflected to the design of future earth observation satellite program in Japan. NASDA organizes some seminars and training programs in cooperation with related organizations. 1. Introduction National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) was established 31 years ago, under the National Space Development Agency Law, to act as the nucleus for the development of space and to promote the peaceful use of space. NASDA is responsible for the following tasks, based on the Japanese Space Development Program enacted by the Prime Minister: Development of satellites (including space experiments and the space station) and launch vehicles, launching and tracking the craft. Development of methods, facilities and equipment required for the above. This paper presents the outline of the remote sensing activities of NASDA in the Southeast Asia. 2. Development Of Earth Observation Satellites NASDA is developing earth observation satellites, such as ADEOS-II and ALOS. ADEOS-II is being developed to help answer question on the global environment; a theme of common concern to all humanity. ALOS is a satellite following JERS-1 and ADEOS, which will utilize advanced land observing technology. ALOS will be used for cartography, regional observation, disaster monitoring and resource surveying. ALOS has three remote-sensing instruments: the Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) for digital elevation mapping, the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2) for precise land coverage observation, and the Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) for day-and-night and all-weather land observation. 2.1 ADEOS-II The Advanced Earth Observing Satellite II (ADEOS-II) is the satellite which will take over ADEOS's observation mission of monitoring frequent climate changes occurring in the world, expansion of the ozone holes, and global environmental changes, as well as investigating the causes of these phenomena. ADEOS-II is equipped with two core sensors; AMSR for the observation of various physical content concerning water cycling regardless of day and night, and GLI for the observation of many field such as ocean, land and cloud with high precision, with the combination of other instruments developed by domestic and overseas organization. They include a scattering meter (Sea Winds, NASA/JPL ), ILAS-II an improved spectrometer for measuring infrared radiation at the edge of the atmosphere (Environmental Agency), and POLDER, an earth surface reflection measuring device from CNES. ADEOS-II is expected to acquire the data necessary to understand the circulation of water and energy, and the circulation of carbon in order to contribute to study the global environmental changes including seizing the mechanism of global environmental changes. Main Characteristics of ADEOS-II are as follows. Dimension Main body Approx. 5 × 4 × 4m (X-axis × Y-axis × Z-axis) Solar Array Paddle Approx. 3 × 24m Weight Total Weight Approx. 3500kg Mission Instrument Weight Approx. 1200kg Power 5000W (EOL) Life Designed Life 3 years Propellant For 5 years Orbit Category Sun-synchronous sub-recurrent orbit Altitude 802.9km Inclination 98.62deg. Period 101min. Recurrent Period 4 days Local Sun Time AM 10:30±15 Launch Launch Vehicle H-IIA Rocket Launch Site Tanegashima Space Center Launch Period 2001 (Fiscal Year) 2.2 ALOS The Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) is a Satellite following the Japanese Earth Resources Satellite-1 (JERS-1) and Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) which will utilize advanced land observing technology, The ALOS will be used for cartography, regional observation, disaster monitoring, and resource surveying. The ALOS has three remote-sensing instruments: the Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) for digital elevation mapping, the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2) for precise land coverage observation, and the Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) for day-and-night and all-weather land observation. The ALOS will be launched by an H-IIA launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center in 2003. 2.2.1 Main Characteristics: Main Characteristics of ALOS are as follows. Launch: Japanese fiscal year 2003 / H-IIA Launch Vehicle Tanegashima Space Center Life: 3 - 5 years Orbit: Altitude=Approx. 700km, Sun-Synchronous Subrecurrent, Inclination=Approx. 98deg., Period=Approx. 99min., Recurrent Perid=Approx. 45day, Local time at Descending Node=10:30AM+-15min. Weight: Approx. 3,850kg (at lift-off) Power: Approx. 7000W (EOL) 2.2.2 PRISM: Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) is a panchromatic radiometer with 2.5-meter spatial resolution. In order to obtain terrain data including elevation, the PRISM has three telescopes for forward, nadir and backward view. Precise land information can be obtained frequently by the PRISM. Major Specifications of PRISM are as follows. Observation Band 0.52 - 0.77µm (Forward-Nadir-Backward) Base/Height ratio 1.0 S/N 70 Spatial Resolution (IFOV) 2.5m (3.57µrad) MTF 0.20 Swath Width 35km Pointing Angle +-1.5deg. (cross track) 2.2.3 AVNIR-2: Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2) is a visible and near infrared radiometer for observing land and coastal zones and provides better spatial land coverage maps and land-use classification maps for monitoring regional environment. The instrument has a cross track pointing function for disaster monitoring. Major Specifications of AVNIR-2 are as follows. Observation Band ch1: 0.42 - 0.50µm, ch2: 0.52 - 0.60µm, ch3: 0.61 - 0.69µm, ch4: 0.76 - 0.89µm S/N 200 Spatial Resolution 10m MTF ch1 - 3: 0.25, ch4: 0.20 Swath Width 70km Pointing Angle +-40deg. (cross track) 2.2.4 PALSAR: Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) is an active microwave sensor for cloud-free and day-and-night land observation and provides higher performance than the JERS-1's SAR. The sensor has a beam steerable in elevation and the ScanSAR mode, which allows us to obtain a wider swath than conventional SARs. The development of the PALSAR is a joint project between NASDA and Japan Resources Observation System Organization (JAROS). Major Specifications of PALSAR are as follows. Observation Mode Fine Resolution Mode ScanSAR Mode Frequency L-band Polarization HH or VV (option: HV or VH) Spatial Resolution 10m (2 looks) 20m (4 looks) 100m Swath Width 70km 250 - 360km (3 - 5scans) Off-nadir Angle 18 - 48deg. 3. Pilot Projects Under the bilateral agreement between the Royal Thai government and the government of Japan, National Research Council of Thailand(NRCT) and NASDA have managed the ground receiving station for MOS-1, JERS-1 satellites at Lad Krabang area in Bangkok in order to receive, process and distribute Japanese satellite data to their coverage region since 1987. In this context, NASDA has started the first pilot projects for public use in Thailand and added projects in Indonesia. Purpose of the pilot projects is to promote operational data use for governmental and administrative purposes through data analysis technologies development. In the pilot projects, we are developing and researching particular application for each participating agency, and we are expecting that the results should be useful in the governmental activities. The results from the pilot projects could be reflected to the design of future earth observation satellite program in Japan. 4. Training 4.1 AIT Training Program Under contract with NASDA, in cooperation with Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC) has five training courses in a year at AIT campus in Bangkok, Thailand (two weeks, 15-20 participants) and some other places (one week, 20-40 participants). The purpose of the training program is mainly to promote the continuous use of data from Japanese Earth observation satellites, such as JERS-1 and ADEOS, which will contribute to the development of this region. The first course, Remote Sensing & Geographic Information System, was held in 1995 at AIT. Caravan style training and SAR data application training were added as new options in 1997. The objectives of these courses are as follows;
This seminar has been conducted by NASDA and UNESCAP since 1992 in cooperation with RESTEC. The main objective of this seminar is to share our experience and knowledge on remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) applications for sustainable ecosystem management in the Asia-Pacific region. Participants are decision-makers, planners and technical users from Asian and Pacific region. The content includes the seminar on the application of RS and GIS for tropical ecosystem management(two days), field trip survey for understanding of tropical ecosystem dynamics (one day), computer hands-on training on digital image analysis for RS and GIS (two days). This seminar has been held in eight different countries of the Asian and Pacific region: Thailand in 1992, Malaysia in 1993, Indonesia in 1994, Philippines in 1995, Fiji in 1996, Vietnam in 1997, Bangladesh in 1998 and Myanmar in 1999. The ninth Regional Seminar on Earth Observation for Tropical Eco-system Management is scheduled to take place at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand from 20 to 24 November 2000. 5. Conclusion These activities contribute to the capacity-building of the related countries of this region. NASDA will continue this kind of effort. |