The Ministry
of Science and Technology announced on Tuesday that a large
surveillance network will be set up to monitor water reserves,
forests, farmland, urban development and changes.
The project's main goal is to make it possible to obtain data on
any event at any given time from space by sending over 100
observation satellites by 2020.
China regularly sends research satellites into orbit and in
October last year it became the third nation to successfully put a
human in space.
Last month, the retrievable chamber of its 20th recoverable
satellite returned to Earth with a bang, crashing through the roof
of a house.
And in August, a satellite was launched that carried out land
and mapping surveys for several days before returning to Earth.
Sun Laiyan, director of the China National Space
Administration?(CNSA), said that a
large satellite-based earth observation system will also be built
by 2010. The system could be used for observation of land,
atmosphere and ocean within China, its adjacent areas and even the
entire globe.
He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 18th plenary
session of the Committee for Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS),
an international non-governmental organization set up in 1984 to
focus on air-to-surface observation.
Sun said that China will develop a new generation of polar orbit
and stationary orbit meteorological satellites, high-performance
resource follow-up satellites, oceanic color and dynamic
observation satellites.
It will also set up a mini-satellite constellation for
environmental and disaster monitoring. Construction of the
constellation will be done in two phases. The first phase would see
deployment of three satellites. In the second phase, eight more
satellites would be put in place, said Sun.
"We will complete the first phase before 2007. We welcome
international collaboration to complete the second phase before
2010," he said.
"The CNSA wishes to enhance exchanges and cooperation with other
countries in the field of earth observation, to contribute more to
peaceful use of outer space," Sun said.
Some 300 officials and specialists from home and abroad attended
the conference, to discuss how to study global water resources,
disaster monitoring and other issues through earth observation
technology.
The first earth meteorological satellites were developed in
1960. Since then, many countries have developed their own earth
observation technology. CEOS was formed to coordinate worldwide
efforts for civil earth observation.
Results of earth observation are used in atmospheric, ocean and
land studies as well as agriculture, industry and business
sectors.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of CEOS, which China joined in
1991, officials from the World Meteorology Organization, the
European Space Administration and other international organizations
delivered speeches yesterday.
An exhibition of remote-sensing technology, global positioning
systems, space science and other earth observation-related
technological achievements was held and will last until
Thursday.
(CRI.com, China Daily November 17, 2004)