Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




EARTH OBSERVATION
A New Era of Space Collaboration between Australia and US
by Staff Writers
Canberra, Australia (SPX) Jun 25, 2015


A key element of the partnership involves a major upgrade to Geoscience Australia's Alice Springs satellite antenna which will see the station play a much more significant role in the international Landsat ground-station network.

On June 18, 2015 in Canberra, Australia, the U.S. Geological Survey and Geoscience Australia signed a comprehensive new partnership to maximize land remote sensing operations and data that can help to address issues of national and international significance.

"This partnership builds on a long history of collaboration between the USGS and Geoscience Australia and creates an exciting opportunity for us to pool resources across our organizations," said Dr. Frank Kelly, USGS Space Policy Advisor and Director of the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center.

"We will work collaboratively to implement a shared vision for continental-scale monitoring of land surface change using time-series of Earth observations to detect change as it happens."

Dr. Chris Pigram, Geoscience Australia's Chief Executive Officer, also welcomed the agreement. "This new partnership elevates an already very strong relationship to a new level, and will see both organizations harness their respective skillsets to further unlock the deep understanding of our planet that the Landsat program provides."

Dr. Kelly and Dr. Pigram both observed, "Our shared vision is to develop systems that enable us to monitor the Earth and detect change as it happens. The ability to do this will be critical to our ability to engage with major challenges like water security, agricultural productivity, and environmental sustainability."

A key element of the partnership involves a major upgrade to Geoscience Australia's Alice Springs satellite antenna which will see the station play a much more significant role in the international Landsat ground-station network.

Following this $3 million (AUD) upgrade committed to by the Australian Government, the Alice Springs antenna will transmit command-and-control signals to the Landsat satellites and support downloading of satellite imagery for the broader South East-Asia and Pacific region. Alice Springs will be one of only three international collaborator ground stations worldwide playing such a vital role in the Landsat program.

Dr. Kelly noted, "We are very pleased to see such a commitment from Australia to the future success and sustainability of the Landsat program. We appreciate the essential role that Australia continues to play in ensuring that Landsat data for this region is collected and then made available for societal benefit."

The partnership will also include a strong focus on applying new science and 'big data' techniques, such as Geoscience Australia's Geoscience Data Cube and the USGS's land change monitoring, assessment, and projection capability, to help users unlock the full value of the data from the Landsat program.

Dr. Suzette Kimball, acting Director of the USGS, recently noted, "We are now beginning to see that the combination of high performance computing, data storage facilities, data preparation techniques, and advanced systems can materially accelerate the value of Landsat data."

Dr. Kimball added, "By lowering barriers to this technology, we can enable government, research and industry users in the United States and Australia, as well as the broader world, to realize the full benefits of this open-access and freely available data."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
USGS
Earth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





EARTH OBSERVATION
New research shows Earth's core contains 90 percent of Earth's sulfur
Paris, France (SPX) Jun 22, 2015
So perhaps there is some truth in the old legends of the underworld reeking of brimstone (or sulphur, as it is now called)? New research confirms that the Earth's core does in fact contain vast amounts of sulphur, estimated to be up to 8.5 x 1018 tonnes. This is about 10 times the amount of sulphur in the rest of the Earth, based on the most recent estimates (and for comparison, around 10% ... read more


EARTH OBSERVATION
Moon engulfed in permanent, lopsided dust cloud

Crashing comets may explain mysterious lunar swirls

Google Lunar X-Prize meets Yoda

China, Russia plan joint landing on the Moon

EARTH OBSERVATION
Scientists find methane in Mars meteorites

NASA Signs Agreements to Advance Agency's Journey to Mars

New study favors cold, icy early Mars

Scientists find methane in Mars meteorites

EARTH OBSERVATION
Robotic Tunneler May Explore Icy Moons

How to sail through space on sunbeams - solar satellite leads the way

XCOR Selects Matrix Composites to Develop Lynx Chines

Spacecraft glitch shifts orbiting ISS: Russia

EARTH OBSERVATION
Electric thruster propels China's interstellar ambitions

China Plans First Ever Landing On The Lunar Far Side

China ranked 4th among world space powers

3D printer making Chinese space suit parts

EARTH OBSERVATION
Curtiss-Wright Awarded Contract By The European Space Agency

Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome Receives First Telemetry From ISS

Russian, US Scientists to Cooperate in Space Exploration Despite Sanctions

'Hard landing' as three astronauts return to Earth from ISS

EARTH OBSERVATION
Garvey Spacecraft selects Pacific Spaceport Complex

Sentinel-2A satellite ready for Launch from Kourou

Arianespace restructure signals major changes in company governance

NASA issues RFP for New Class of Launch Services

EARTH OBSERVATION
The mass of the Mars-sized exoplanet, Kepler-138b

Astronomers create array of Earth-like planet models

Helium-Shrouded Planets May Be Common in Our Galaxy

Hubble detects stratosphere-like layer around exoplanet

EARTH OBSERVATION
Oculus out to let people touch virtual worlds

Speeding Up Synthetic Chemistry

Framework materials yield to pressure

Squid inspires camouflaging smart materials




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.