South Africa’s space agency develops system to monitor crops

26th May 2017

By: Keith Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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The Earth Observation (EO) directorate of the South African National Space Agency (Sansa) has developed an advanced crop-monitoring system for South Africa that will also be made available to other African countries in due course. “We are able to monitor [crops’] condition through time,” Sansa EO acting MD Dr Paida Mangara told the thirty-seventh International Symposium on Remote Sensing of the Environment (ISRSE), in Pretoria.

“We want to implement it throughout the African region through our cooperation with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad),” he told “Engineering News”. “Currently, there are five countries which will pilot the system. We are developing the implementation plan, starting with these five countries.” Their names will be released at a later date, jointly with Nepad.

Resource management and the environment form a major focus area for Sansa, and the crop-monitoring programme is in line with the agency’s strategic aim to maximise space science and technology for socioeconomic benefit. A top priority is the provision of space-based data, products and services. “We have to transform Terabytes of EO data into understandable and useable information,” he highlighted at the ISRSE. “That is where our key focus is at the moment.” To this end, Sansa has its own EO data centre, and the agency is looking at developing a high-performance computing centre for EO.

Currently, there is no problem with access to most space-based data, especially medium-resolution imagery. Much of this is now available free. “Where we have challenges are areas in which high resolution [imagery] is required,” he stated. High resolution means a resolution of less than 1 m; this has to be paid for. South Africa’s next satellite, EOSat-1, will have a maximum resolution of about 2.5 m.

“It’s primary mission is food security – agricultural crop and grazing lands monitoring,” he explained to Engineering News. “The secondary mission is to track land use – land-cover monitoring, looking at built-up environments (settlements, urban areas, in general), different land use types, and also monitoring vegetation, soils and water. “A third mission is disaster management. We aim to complete the flight model EOSat-1 in the 2019/20 period.

EOSat-1 is being developed under the aegis of Sansa by Sansa Space Engineering and State-owned company Denel Spaceteq. Once launched, it will be operated by Sansa Space Operations and its data supplied to Sansa Earth Observation and (when relevant) to Sansa Space Science. Earth Observation, Space Engineering, Space Operations and Space Science are the four directorates of Sansa. EO and Space Science are thus users of the satellite and its data.

Mangara pointed out at the ISRSE that South Africa had both a National Space Strategy and a South African Earth Observation Systems Strategy. Sansa was also helping to develop an EO vision for Africa and the agency was ready, willing and able to support both regional and continental programmes. He cited the agency’s vision: “South Africa as the leading innovator of space science and technology solutions on the African continent and beyond.”

He listed Sansa’s five goals. Number one is the development and provision of space-based data, products and services. Goal two is to promote and undertake national research and development. Goal three is training (local skills development) and increasing space awareness among South Africans (including in other branches of government and in business). Goal four is to stimulate the development of the local space industry. And goal five is to develop and engage in collaborative partnerships and cooperative programmes. He noted that all five goals were relevant to the EO sector.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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