MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: The Star

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's second micro-satellite to be launched in 2004 will be able to track in detail water movement and deforestation, providing timely information for averting crisis like landslides, said National Space Agency director-general Prof Datuk Dr Mazlan Othman.

"The digital images will be useful for urban planning, land use and national security purpose," she said.

Dr Mazlan said the second micro-satellite, Macsat, would be able to capture images very close to the earth and its pictures would be much sharper than TiungSat-1, launched two years ago, which is used for noting land use and monitor pollution.

"The sharp focused pictures can be used in disaster mitigation and management, pollution monitoring, land use mapping and geological mapping.

"The micro-satellite can also help in urban planning so that potential water flow areas are not disturbed and also we do not work against natural forces of water flow," she said in an interview.

Macsat's applications would be able to perform disaster response, monitoring shipping routes, oil spills, marine ecosystems, and mapping of terrain, forests and water sources. Dr Mazlan said that overview pictures from TiungSat-1 were used by the Centre for Remote Sensing in the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry, universities, Survey Department and specialised private companies which could interpret the satellite pictures.

"From these pictures and the detailed mapping, the relevant authorities and urban planners, can assess areas that are prone to landslides."

Macsat would cost about RM50mil to build, about a tenth of what it would cost to buy the technology.