NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have begun combining elements of their satellite resources to more than double earth observation data over the Americas.
Under the new partnership, data transmission will take place between JAXA’s advanced land observing satellite (ALOS) and NASA’s tracking and data relay satellite system (TDRSS).
The exchange will increase the frequency of observations for earthquake hazards, the decline of forests and changing water resources in North and South America.
NASA will have access to all ALOS data acquired over the Americas through the TDRSS’ eight geosynchronous satellites which will transmit the data to NASA data centre and JAXA’s earth observation centre.
Data from ALOS’s Phased Array type L-band synthetic aperture radar, that precisely measures the distance to earth’s surface under all weather conditions, will be made available to the US government agencies and scientists.
JAXA on the other hand will receive data from ALOS relayed by TDRSS more frequently than through its own data relay test satellite and in more volume.
