NASA is planning to launch a remote-controlled Earth-observing camera, the International Space Station SERVIR environmental research and visualisation (ISERV) system, aboard the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s third H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-3) from Tanegashima Space Center.
Following its installation in the window observational research facility within the ISS Destiny laboratory, the camera system will be operated by researchers to capture images of the globe for disaster analysis and environmental studies.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center SERVIR programme director Dan Irwin said that images captured from ISERV on the ISS could provide valuable information.
"We hope it will provide new data and information from space related to natural disasters, environmental crises and the increased effects of climate variability on human populations," Irwin said.
Designed and built at Marshall Space Flight Center, the ISERV Pathfinder is a new imaging instrument, which offers satellite data and tools to scientists on the ground.
The system will also assist scientists in gaining operational experience and expertise and allow them to design a more capable system in the future, which will be able to monitor disasters on Earth.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataNASA SERVIR programme capacity building programme manager Nancy Searby said ISERV started because officials in developing countries were sometimes unable to acquire the images they need to address environmental threats and provide post-disaster assessments.
"The SERVIR team approached NASA’s ISS and Earth Science Applied Sciences Program with the concept of acquiring the needed imagery from the ISS," Searby added. "The ISERV test bed payload is a result of that collaboration."
ISERV is the first among a series of space station Earth-observing instruments, which in future will be equipped with more capable sensors on the exterior for capturing a clearer and wider view of Earth.
ISERV development is a collaboratively funded project between NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Directorate and the Earth Science Division Applied Sciences Program of Science Mission Directorate.
SERVIR is a joint venture between NASA and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Image: The ISERV camera system will be positioned to glance through ISS Destiny’s Earth-facing window. Photo: courtesy of NASA/USAID.
