Help from orbit. Satellites help solve problems on Earth
2010, the turn of May and June. There is a huge flood across much of Europe. The wave passing through Poland takes a tragic toll, destroying over 10 thousand. km of roads, 18 thous. residential buildings, sewage treatment plants and, above all, agricultural areas.
In the building of the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences, located in Warsaw, the basements are flooded, and when employees remove the equipment from laboratories and the archives of the institution from the lowest parts of the building, the work of the crisis management team continues on the upper floors. - We analyzed satellite photos to better understand the dynamics of the flood, to support firefighters and other rescue services - says Jakub Ryzenko from the Crisis Management Center of CBK PAN.
In 2010, the Copernicus program, created by the European Space Agency to monitor the Earth from orbit, was just beginning. The employees of CBK PAN used satellite images provided as part of the pilot project of this project to create a regularly updated flood spread map.
- We have harnessed all our knowledge of mathematics and natural science, the ability to create models to help coordinate the activities of services, inform where the flood waters reach and how to optimize their elimination. We worked non-stop for several weeks, providing specific information necessary at that moment. Thanks to this, we were able to lay the foundations for cooperation between research institutions, such as ours, and emergency services. A cooperation that continues to this day and serves the increasing use of modern satellite techniques in crisis management - says Jakub Ryzenko.
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The work that was done manually at the time was automated - flood extent maps can be generated without human intervention. Such a system will be launched in Poland in spring 2021.
The earth is constantly monitored by satellites
The aforementioned Copernicus program was launched three years ago. Sentinel satellites continually send terabytes of data to Earth to monitor the atmosphere, land and oceans. Copernicus is especially helpful in the event of natural disasters such as floods or fires. Its data allows you to create a map of threats and support rescue operations.
ESA runs many other observing programs under the collective name of Earth Explorer. ESA's satellites and ground equipment help mapping the habitats of endangered species and tracking ships responsible for oil pollution in the seas. Thanks to them, humanitarian organizations also have less trouble reaching those in need in Africa.
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Among these missions, SWARM stands out - the first satellite constellation created by ESA to study the Earth's magnetic field and its changes, as well as providing data on the impact of ocean currents on climate shaping. The mission, which was due to end in 2017, has been extended for another four years. Engineers from GMV Polska are involved in the works on it.
- We provide software for processing data transmitted by satellites and we care about their quality and reliability. At some stage of the mission, it turned out that the data from one of the sensors of the SWARM constellation did not match the assumed mathematical models. Together with ESA and a team of scientists, we managed to determine the cause of the disturbance and, by changing the data processing algorithms accordingly, make them still usable by researchers, explains Paweł Wojtkiewicz, director of the space sector at GMV Polska.
From orbit, you can count how many trees grow on Earth
The company also participated in the creation of the most advanced and groundbreaking mission of the coming years, i.e. Biomass. It is a satellite that uses radar technology to determine the amount and density of forest areas all over the Earth. What precision are we talking about? - Huge. Figuratively speaking, in fact, only cutting down all the trees on Earth, accurately measuring and weighing them could provide us with such accurate data as the Biomass mission - explains Paweł Wojtkiewicz.
Recent figures from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research say that more than 11,000 were cut out last year alone. sq km in the Amazon. This is the largest loss since 2018. The world's green lungs are shrinking due to a wasteful economy. If we know precise data on forest areas, it will be easier for us to introduce rescue programs.
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- The huge Biomass radar allows you to take what is best compared to a computer tomography: taking pictures of successive layers of the forest, which allows you to create a three-dimensional image of it. For this to work, it is necessary to photograph the same area in series and at the right moments. We have created a mission design analysis. We built mathematical models allowing to determine the appropriate flight trajectory of the satellite and the optimal orbit, the number of necessary maneuvers and many other factors that will allow the Biomass to fulfill the hopes placed in it - says Eng. Artur Łukasik from GMV Poland.
Biomass should be launched at the end of 2022, although launch may be delayed due to the pandemic. Currently, the satellite is being assembled, and it is supported by terrestrial devices created by the Polish company Sener. Two platforms integrating the individual elements of the satellite and allowing their easy disassembly have already been handed over to OHB Italia - the satellite subcontractor, which is primarily under the care of Airbus.
Satellite data is complemented by observations from drones
Satellite images help not only assess the state of nature. Thanks to them, air traffic safety maps in the vicinity of airports are also created. What can you see from orbit?
- A lot: is the crane built by the developer on the site actually 15 or maybe 30 meters long; what height are the trees growing in the vicinity of the airplane glide path; what is the density and height of buildings; what is the distribution of high voltage pylons and lots of other potentially dangerous obstacles - says Krzysztof Mysłakowski from Creotech Instruments. The company, together with AP Tech and the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, creates a System for Automatic Monitoring of Aviation Obstacles and Records (SAMPLE).
It is to be based on two sources - satellite data and information from ground cameras or drones. This will allow to create a safety map extending to areas located even several dozen kilometers from the airport. - In addition, the map will be updated very often. Until now, such documentation was created by geodesists, which made new versions of maps rarely available. We will be able to deliver updates theoretically even once a week - adds Krzysztof Mysłakowski.
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Previously, Creotech together with CBK PAN developed the CreoScan system enabling coordination of the movement of drones and processing of data obtained by them. The baptism of one of the system elements - the Drone Rapid Mapping (DRM) solution - took place during the fires that took place in the Biebrza National Park in spring 2020.
DRM combines satellite information with that obtained by drones, thanks to which it creates a precise and dynamic map of a given area. The device does not require an internet connection and can be powered by a car battery or a power generator.
- It can be used during natural disasters to support a rescue operation, but also to search for people missing in the forest or in the mountains. It should work quickly and in any place, which is why it was so important to make DRM independent from Internet connections - adds Krzysztof Mysłakowski.
Satellites will help find fresh water sources
What else can you search for from orbit? For example, fresh water under the sands of the desert. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Qatar Foundation have launched the OASIS program. Its goal is to build a satellite equipped with radar that will search the sands of the Sahara to find freshwater reservoirs deep below the surface. The radar technology used in the program is analogous to that used in the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter probe, which in 2015 discovered periodically appearing watercourses on Mars.
- The special wish of the emir of Qatar is that the satellite we are building should not only scour the sands of the desert in search of water, but also investigate the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. It is supposed to be a multi-tasking mission - says Ing. Artur Chmielewski, mission manager for NASA.
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Obtaining clean water and its very meticulous recycling is one of the issues also discussed by the Colombian branch of The Mars Society. In agreement with the European Space Foundation, it lays the theoretical foundations for a self-sufficient Martian colony based on closed water circulation and aquaponics, i.e. symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic fauna such as fish and crabs. Animal waste is broken down by bacteria into nitrates and nitrites, which plants use as fertilizer.
- Mars is not a life-friendly world, but since we know what to do in order for the colony there to survive, we also know how to support people who live in difficult conditions here on Earth. Water recycling systems, an economy where nothing is wasted, aquaponics-based food - all of this we can and should use here on Earth, rather than having a wasteful, extremely short-sighted economy. We have technology, we just need to put it into practice - says Łukasz Wilczyński from the European Space Foundation.
