Satellite launch will give projection to Brazil, says AEB president
The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) is counting down to the launch of the Amazonia 1 satellite, which takes place this Sunday morning (28). The fully nationally produced and operated satellite will be sent into space with a specific mission: to closely monitor the Earth, especially the Amazon region.
The launch is part of the Amazon Mission which, according to the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), aims to monitor deforested and agricultural areas, in addition to environmental disasters.
The Amazonia 1 satellite will be launched by the Indian Space Agency in Sriharikota at 1:54 am EDT. The release will be broadcast live by Agência Brasil and TV Brasil .
In an exclusive interview to Rádio Nacional , the president of the Brazilian Space Agency, Carlos Moura, who is accompanying the delegation in India, said that the moment is one of expectations and also of projection for Brazil.
Rádio Nacional: We are living an astronomical moment with some missions that seek to look at the deep universe in search of new planets, new worlds. Amazonia 1 seeks to look inwards, to planet Earth and, in particular, to the Amazon. In your opinion, how do these missions complement each other?
Carlos Moura: Naturally, both missions are very important. Space systems, satellites that observe the Earth from a privileged point of view, they allow us to better understand our oceans, our biomes, our atmosphere, better understand this set of factors that make this planet, how far if you know, be what contains the best conditions of life as we know it. Understanding our planet better is an issue that affects our daily lives and also affects future generations. Therefore, it is extremely important for the sustainability of the Earth and humanity. Now, projecting to other celestial bodies, trying to better understand how they evolved, what happens to them, for example, what happens to solar activity that influences communications, energy systems on Earth have a practical application that already occurs , called space meteorology, something we already study in our daily lives. And there are missions that try to understand how other bodies evolved, whether there was life or not, whether they have material components that can be useful for humanity or not. So, it's a land clearing. Thus, as happened centuries ago with the great navigations, today humanity also projects itself towards these other celestial bodies and to do this there is a very strong demand for scientific and technological development. This effort that humanity makes also has interesting developments in terms of materials, communication, control systems. Something that can also have consequences in our daily lives.
Rádio Nacional: How can the launch of a satellite with Brazilian technology help in monitoring environmental areas and combating deforestation in the country?
Moura: The Amazonia 1 satellite, which is an optical remote sensing satellite, will give Brazil autonomy to better monitor its various biomes, its seas, all the targets of interest that we have, because it is a satellite that will be under complete domain of Brazil. It is a technology that was developed in the country and it has the function of complementing what is already done today with the satellites developed in cooperation with China. So, these satellites have a heliosynchronous orbit and they're traveling the Earth's surface and they're imaging swaths of the Earth and you have an update that takes, sometimes, five days or even longer. He doesn't take pictures every day from the same location. When you have two or three satellites you have the possibility to update information more frequently, even in those places where there was cloud cover and the satellite passed and could not see through the clouds. So, this joint operation of Amazonia 1 with the other two satellites will give us a better set of information for our monitoring systems for different purposes, whether environmental, agriculture or security, inclusive.
The 100% Brazilian satellite still at the National Institute for Space Research, before embarking for India - INPE/publication
Rádio Nacional: This project, as highlighted by the National Institute for Space Research, is entirely national, but Brazil has signed partnerships with China and India, for example. What can we expect for the future?
Moura: Regarding partnerships with other countries, we do have the intention to expand what we already do. I would mention, in the scientific sphere, a project that involves the ITA [Technological Institute of Aeronautics], Inpe, NASA and American universities. We have Itasat 2 which is a constellation of three satellites that will involve an Israeli university, ITA and Inpe and possibly NASA and other universities. So, in scientific activity, it is already common for countries to share missions because this allows us to better use our capabilities, resources and minimize certain risks, but also in terms of applications, there are efforts with European, American, Russian and Japanese. So, this is a common practice and Brazil does intend to insert itself in it. We have two interesting challenges ahead: the Israeli lunar probe is due to launch in 2024 and NASA's Artemis program leading humanity's return to the Moon. of our science, our technology, our engineering, our industry. And yet about partnerships, it is important to mention that we have countries in South America, countries that are in Central America and the entire region of influence of the South Atlantic. African countries, after all, there are means or meteorological activities, riches that can and should be best known and best explored by these countries. So, being able to add countries with tools that allow us to know better and manage better is very important. Even for other activities, for example, control of illegal activities, piracy, a series of difficulties, challenges that countries face. If they are working together, the effort is less for each one and it is more effective in your result. So, the possibility of developing smaller satellites, satellite constellations, taking several applications, whether from Earth observation, data collection, radar satellites, there is a multitude of applications that these space systems can have and we believe that they should be joined to our strategy is a concrete perspective that must be carried out in the coming years.
Rádio Nacional: How are you looking forward to witnessing the launch of this mission up close?
Moura: As for the feeling of seeing a satellite launch, it's really exciting because you have a launch vehicle there that weighs hundreds of tons with a lot of concentrated energy and it comes out of zero and reaches a speed of thousands of kilometers per hour in a few moments, that it really is a very beautiful physical phenomenon, very impacting. But, it's not just this plastic beauty. There is, at the time of such a launch, the culmination of efforts that last for many years, sometimes tens of years. For some professionals it is the challenge of a career since the subject graduated until now, when he is already the leader of a project, manager, the director of an area. So, Amazonia 1 crowns this effort by Brazil, which dates back to 1979, 1980, with the Brazilian Space Mission, for the country to be able to develop its own optical remote sensing satellite. The Amazonia 1 fulfills this goal of many years ago and it also allows the platform that is being used to carry this Brazilian optical camera, the Multimission Platform - which was also conceived a long time ago - to finally fly and we can test it. all its systems, gain technological maturity with everything that makes it up and that it can, from now on, be used in other projects or be updated or modified to adapt to different missions that satellites can fulfill. So, I'm sure it will be a great satisfaction for the professionals of the Brazilian Space Agency, of Inpe, the professionals of our industry and for the entire Brazilian space community.
INPE researchers observe the Amazonia 1 INPE/publication
Rádio Nacional: Would you like to make any further remarks, President?
Moura: We really appreciate the opportunity to talk about space, about the breadth of space activities in our country, especially in large countries like ours. Continental countries can only exercise better control of their territory, bring public policies to their entire population, even remote places, if they have space systems. This is easily observed, and we see that our geostationary communications satellite, for example, today takes broadband internet to many remote places, schools, basic health units, something that was not thought of until recently. The Earth observation satellite, we've already talked about the various missions they carry out, our surveillance of borders, the seas, all of this needs these tools. So, we believe that space systems are like a basic infrastructure for the country, which allows the integration of our people, economy, education, health. That's what we work for, we are sure that these other satellites that we are developing, smaller satellites, with some more dedicated missions, some satellite constellations will open up very interesting opportunities. Not just with the equipment itself, but with the applications that will come from these systems, once placed in space. And we are also certain that, with the entry into commercial operation of the Alcântara Space Center, we will place Brazil on the list of countries that are capable of placing objects in orbit. This should generate a series of developments in that region and also several spillovers to our industry, as happened back in the 1960s with the aeronautical activity and today we are the third most important aeronautical industry in the world. So, we are hopeful that the space will also reserve a very important place for our knowledge, capacity, engineering, science and that youth will be able, in a few years' time, to enjoy the space much more and better.
Text translated using artificial intelligence.
