During a cerimony which took place in the beginning of the month to announce the reduction in the deforestation of the Amazon, Gilberto Câmara, Director of INPE, said that Brazil will launch its first land monitoring satellite produced with domestic technology in 2009.
Brazil has also signed an agreement with the Chinese government to launch Chinese-Brazilian satellites (CBERS Series) in 2007, 2009 and 2012. The program is important, among other objectives, to help in the monitoring of the deforestation of the Amazon.
Spatial resolution
Today, Brazil monitors its territory using several satellites. One of them is the North American – Modis, which has a spatial resolution of 250 meters and flies over the same area every two days. However, this satellite will be deactivated in the next years and gradually replaced by new ones.
In 2009, Brazil will have a 50-meter imaging capability every two days, which means better quality than now. “We will have an uncomparable effectiveness in monitoring and controlling our territory”, said Câmara.
