Unique Satellite Imaging Uses

[Gray Rinehart]

In this case, estimating archaeological looting:

In an interesting juxtaposition of the modern with the ancient, New Scientist reported (in the article, "Iraq's legacy of looted treasures is revealed" (http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19726453.200-iraqs-legacy-of-looted-treasures-is-revealed.html?feedId=online-news_rss20)) that "archaeologist Elizabeth Stone at Stony Brook University in New York examined images from Digital Globe Corporation, a private satellite imaging company," to estimate the extent of looting at archaeological sites in Iraq.

Stone had previously done on-the-ground surveys in Iraq (as reported in "Looters riddle ancient Iraqi sites with holes," (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3825) a 2003 New Scientist article), but this time she studied "the darkness and sharpness of shadows' in satellite images "to identify holes made by looters and [determine] whether they were pre-existing or new." She estimated "that hundreds of thousands of tablets, coins, cylinder seals, statues, terracottas, bronzes and other objects have been stolen," though this must be conjecture based on the supposed contents of the vaults that have been broken into. Unless commercial imagery is a lot better than it used to be ....

It's interesting, though outside the scope of the imaging considerations, that these academicians are so concerned with the loss of these antiquities. Do they really place their curiosity above the interests of the Iraqi people, and begrudge them looking for items to sell on the black market? Only our relative wealth and leisure affords us the opportunity to collect trinkets for study and display rather than selling or reusing them.

Still, it's an interesting way to use satellite imagery.

[Gray Rinehart]

Here's some fascinating imagery: check out this Spaceflight Now story (http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0803/03avalanches/) in which the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged "active avalanches" near the North pole of Mars. Talk about being in the right orbital position at the right time!

And this image of the earth and moon together (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA10244.jpg) is priceless.

[Gray Rinehart]

Here's another case of being in the right place at the right time, as reported by Spaceflight Now:


... engineers with the Phoenix program unveiled a dramatic photo today showing the spacecraft descending to the martian surface under its parachute Sunday. The black-and-white photo, shot by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft as it sailed overhead, shows the inflated parachute and the backshell supporting Phoenix dangling below, somewhere between 10,000 and 1,000 feet above the surface.

The image (seen on this page (http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/phoenix/080526mrochute.html)) is quite dramatic.

[Gray Rinehart]

Interesting item from Technology Review (http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20855/page1/),


Researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and MIT are developing a new generation of LIDAR (light detection and ranging) technology to map planetary bodies in more detail than ever before. These maps could help further our goals to explore outer space by providing more data about the geography and topography of the planet so that landing sites can be selected for future missions. The advanced LIDAR system could also be used to analyze the atmosphere on other planets to find out critical information about biohazards, wind speed, and temperature.

Interesting that the article focuses on the exoplanetary application, when the terrestrial application has incredible potential. Consider this tidbit in light of remote sensing of our own ball of dirt,


The current LIDAR technology used by NASA has trouble distinguishing between objects with a height difference of less than one meter. With the new sensors, objects with differences down to one centimeter should be distinguishable.

That's amazing. I just hope the RIT and MIT folks have all their technology security practices in good order, because this has to be a ripe target for espionage.

[Gray Rinehart]

And here comes Geo-Eye, as noted in this Technology Review (http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20988/) piece.


Next month, a commercial satellite company is scheduled to launch an Earth-orbiting satellite that will be able to produce color images so detailed that the U.S. government doesn't permit their public release. The new satellite, dubbed GeoEye-1, will provide images at its highest resolution for classified military and intelligence uses. Slightly lower-resolution versions will be available for commercial and research purposes, as well as through online services like Google Earth.

[Gray Rinehart]

If watching the moon move across the face of the earth isn't a unique satellite imaging use, I don't know what is. Links to the NASA video and the Spaceflight Now story are available in this blog entry (http://www.graymanwrites.com/forums/blog.php?b=110).

[Gray Rinehart]

Launched this past week from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, according to Spaceflight Now (http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0807/21sarlupe5/).


The spacecraft carries a large dish antenna connected to a powerful X-band radar system. The synthetic aperture radar signals can see through clouds and observe ground objects around the clock.

Optical reconnaissance satellites are hampered by weather and darkness, significantly reducing their effectiveness in spying on enemy activity.

Imagery produced by the instrument will show objects as small as three feet....

Interesting choice of words in that last sentence. At first I thought, "Three feet? That's incredible! :eek:", but then I read it again: the imagery will show objects that small, but whether you can tell what they are is another thing entirely. ;)

[Gray Rinehart]

Got a link to this CNN.com story from Twitter: "Satellites unearthing ancient Egyptian ruins." It makes a nice follow-up to the opening post in this thread.


Images from space have been around for decades. Yet only in the past decade or so has the resolution of images from commercial satellites sharpened enough to be of much use to archaeologists. Today, scientists can use them to locate ruins -- some no bigger than a small living room -- in some of the most remote and forbidding places on the planet.

The full story is here (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/12/23/satellites.archaeology.egypt/index.html).

[dbergeron]

Did you see the report last week that the terrorists in Mumbai had used commercial imagery to plan their attacks. India is now considering clamping down on commercial resolution. Not sure how they will do that outside of Indian borders...

[Gray Rinehart]

No, I didn't see that report. Sounds interesting.

It doesn't surprise me, though. Even Google Earth is a pretty powerful tool for picking observation points, planning ingress/egress routes, etc., if you were planning an operation, and that doesn't cost a dime.

Thanks,
G

[dbergeron]

I vaguely remember it being a news report on Fox News or CNN. Didn't look for the report on their websites. Didn't know I'd need it at the time.

Isn't that how it usually happens?

[Gray Rinehart]

The Department of Homeland Security is apparently reviewing its own National Applications Office, according to this Federal Computer Week story (http://fcw.com/articles/2009/03/30/web-napolitano-to-review-satellite-imagery-program.aspx).

[Gray Rinehart]

This Associated Press article (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gM4mwPQcU0j446qIew8P7ZmifwNgD97B6GQ00) reports that the DNI and SecDef hope to develop a new satellite system for overhead imagery.

And you've got to love this, in terms of grammar and content,


The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans for the highly classified program.

Good thing it's so highly classified, isn't it?

[Gray Rinehart]

Article posted yesterday on Spaceflight Now (http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0904/17milsat/):


India is poised to launch a $200 million military imaging radar reconnaissance satellite purchased secretly from Israel to locate hostile Pakistani or terrorist operations at night and during all weather conditions.

It's a lengthy article, and goes into some other upcoming launches as well.