NASA collected satellite images of flood disasters in Nigeria, U.S. space agency says

By TECHNOLOGY TIMES Reporter

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this images of the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers on October 13, 2012 during flood disasters experienced in Nigeria, the U.S. space agency says. Image credit: NASA

Lagos. July 18, 2013: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. space agency and International Space Station (ISS) said that they collected satellite images of flooded areas in Nigeria under a global response effort to assist regions experiencing natural disasters.

ISS announced during the week that in recent months, multispectral imagery were collected by the ISS Agricultural Camera (ISSAC) of flooded regions in Nigeria as well as Pakistan in moves to underscore the benefits of the space station during natural disasters on Earth.

The statement was issued by the International Space Station Multilateral Coordination Board on the Ability of the Space Station to Provide Assistance during Natural Disasters on Earth.

ISS said that in recent times, images of the earth captured from space have included observations of areas flooded in southern Russia; imagery of areas in Haiti and the Atlantic coast of the United States that were impacted by hurricane Sandy; multispectral imagery collected by the ISS Agricultural Camera (ISSAC) of flooded regions in Nigeria and Pakistan.

Flying 250 miles above the planet and circling it every 90 minutes, the orbiting outpost provides a unique vantage point from which images of Earth can play an important role in helping emergency responders know what areas are most in need during natural disasters, according to ISS.

According to the statement, “the International Space Station is an extraordinary global research facility on which the ISS Partnership is carrying out research at an unprecedented rate. Many of the activities on this unique platform yield valuable benefits to society.”

Although each Space Station Partner has distinct agency goals for Station research, each Partner shares a unified goal to extend the resulting knowledge for the betterment of humanity, the body said.

In 2012, the ISS Partnership published “International Space Station Benefits for Humanity,” illustrating specific successful humanitarian accomplishments. This publication highlights ISS contributions in Earth observation and disaster response, education, and human health that are improving the lives of many throughout the world.

ISS said that Earth observation is one of the primary areas of focus for ISS research. A unique complement of automated and crew-operated Earth observation assets are on board the ISS. In addition, the orbit of the ISS provides a distinct perspective over Earth targets that augment polar-orbiting remote sensing spacecraft.

“As a result, the ISS can provide an immediate benefit to regions that have experienced natural disasters, such as floods, wildfires, large storm systems, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions” ISS said.

According to the ISS Board, the data provided from ISS is a complement to the data provided by Earth Observation satellites through the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters,” of which several of the ISS Partners are members.

Through the ISS Programme Science Forum’s Earth Observation Working Group and under the leadership of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and NASA, ISS Earth Observation assets are supporting global response efforts for regions experiencing natural disasters by collecting imagery of disaster-stricken areas on a best-effort basis, it added.

According to the statement, “in recent months, the ISS Partners have worked on procedures to efficiently contribute to disaster response with the image data taken by the ISS crew members and ISS Earth observation payloads. Recent imagery campaigns in response to calls for data include: crew Earth observations of areas flooded in southern Russia; imagery of areas in Haiti and the Atlantic coast of the United States that were impacted by hurricane Sandy; multispectral imagery collected by the ISS Agricultural Camera (ISSAC) of flooded regions in Nigeria and Pakistan.”

While noting that new sensors will soon be available, expanding the Earth observation capabilities on the ISS and the contributions of data to regions affected by natural disasters, ISS added that additional payloads supporting the effort include the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO), the Super Sensitive High Definition TV (SS-HDTV) camera, the Multipurpose Consolidated Experiment (MCE) high definition TV camera (KIBO HDTV-EF), and the ISS SERVIR Environmental Research and Visualization System (ISERV).