God's Eye View
Ralph, James A.
GOD'S EYE VIEW JAMES A. RALPH ii; . . . . _9 New hope for developing ncrtions In the midst of all the alarums and excursions caused by such technological developments as enhanced radiation...
...A catalytic piece of legislation which helped accelerate the consideration of a soon operational Landsat system was introduced earlier this year by Democratic Senator Wendell T. Ford o f Kentucky...
...The color of the Earth scenes does not resemble in the least that which an astronaut would see from that altitude...
...4) provide improved production estimates to international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization for use in assisting developing countries in making rational marketing decisions...
...To address this user cost question, an ad hoc committee has recently been formed by Frank Press, presidential science advisor and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy...
...The United Nations is another suggested alternative...
...The group will also try to develop a man' agement policy for such a system that is acceptable to Congress and to the Carter Administration...
...Its potential for assistance in worldwide crop management of itself justifies the establishment of policy by the United States which recognizes the national and international benefits that can accrue from remote sensing systems in space...
...The developing nations of the world, particularly in Africa and South and Central America can use the interpreted data to much immediate advantage...
...Some have already demonstrated a willingness to participate...
...The policy should also contain the promise of generosity--a generosity in the distribution, analysis, and interpretation of the imagery secured from Landsat's high vantage point...
...dollars, the data which we are receiving and will receive from the two Landsats already in orbit (to be joined by a third in 1978) can be put to good use...
...The management responsibility for Landsat .within the U.S...
...Failure of a satellite to maintain either its sensing or transmission capability would call for immediate and costly replacement...
...In Alaska, new discoveries of copper and molybdenum have resulted from use of Landsat data...
...House of Representatives, Committee on Science and Technology...
...Orbiting the earth in a north-south direction every 103 minutes at a height of 570 miles, the Landsat solar-powered observatory photographs the area of the world immediately below it...
...It is clear at this point that whether or not the Landsat system receives the "operational" appelation and is maintained accordingly, with U.S...
...Properly applied, the knowledge derived from this peripatetic Earth viewer could lead to effective national, and ultimately international, management of the finite food resources available on this planet...
...A formal recognition of the benefits of U.S...
...16 September 1977:J88...
...Data must continue to be distributed effectively by the earthbound portion of the system and the orbital observatories must function without interruption...
...The bill would give responsibility for the earth satellite portion of the system to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, while the ground data distribution segment would be managed by the U.S...
...Commonweal: 587 Landsat then can evolve into an operational agricultural crop forecasting system of major benefit to the United States and to the world...
...Nevertheless, the Landsat Earth Observatory Program, an outgrowth of the U.S...
...technology by the Congress and the administration, including a commitment to operate and maintain the system for the initial years would be commendable...
...9 New hope for developing ncrtions In the midst of all the alarums and excursions caused by such technological developments as enhanced radiation nuclear weapons and recombinant DNA, the more benign inventions of twentieth century technologists elicit little sustained response from the non-scientifically oriented sector of the population...
...Taking photographs in four regions of .the spectrum, the one-ton Landsat surveys the earth almost completely every 18 days, having returned then to its starting point...
...Public interest in last year's Viking-Mars mission had a substantially shorter half-life than that of the Apollo Man-on-the-Moon Project, which itself quickly paled on the Nielson...
...In the area of mineral detection, Landsat's false color imagery has led to the correlation of geological fractures and faults in Colorado with major metal mining areas...
...Landsat I recently celebrated its fifth anniversary in space...
...signals and beamed to Earth where they are reconstructed...
...Space Agency's efforts with the Earth Resource Technology Satellite (ERTS), has reached a transition point where the previous 'interest in Landsat capabilities and accomplishments, which was limited to a few scientific specialists and international entrepreneurs, will give way to a much larger audience of politicians, statesmen, and leaders of all three worlds...
...External to the federal government, entrepreneurs are endorsing the concept of a privately owned satellite system similar to COMSAT...
...government is variously viewed with some agencies vying for control while others demur...
...Other interests recommend control by an international consortium analogous to INTELSAT which currently manages an international communications satellite network...
...Such a system, [Landsat] using remotely sensed data in conjunction with weather, climate, and traditional agricultural information sources could (1) provide a new capability for the United States and other countries in managing agricultural production and inventories to reduce fluctuations in price and volume of trade...
...2) provide near real-time indications of crop diseases and insect infestations which could affect world food supplies...
...Rather, by astute choice of spectral regions, some of which are beyond the range of the human eye, the false color images secured reveal surface features which would be invisible or difficult .to detect in true color...
...What manner of creature is Landsat to cause such a spillover from the bubbling cauldron of space technology into the equally steamy region of international politics...
...engage itself in a sustained, long term and systematic effort over the next decade to transfer to interested developing countries the capability to utilize the technology of remote sensing from space...
...Further, the establishment of a program to distribute earth resource information to those developing countries not yet having the capability for remotely sensed data analysis, and to train their people in the use of the data as well, would be a clear signal to the rest of the world that America is willing to share its technological largesse with the remainder of the world...
...Carter, from an enhanced posture in world statesmanship...
...The key question is how will such a system be financed by users, and to what extent," according to Eliot R. Cutler, the Office of Management and Budget's associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy, and Science...
...The committee further recommended that an international management structure be devised for ultimate control of the inherently global remote sensing system...
...and the burgeoning populace, from a better understanding of the nature of the Earth's finite resources...
...The potential agricultural benefits are well summarized in an excerpt from a statement given by Clayton K. Yeutter, former Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Community Programs, USDA, to the U.S...
...Due to its orbit characteristics, the spacecraft's view moves constantly westward as the earth rotates beneath it...
...The line-up includes the departments of Agriculture, Interior, Defense (Army Corps of Engineers), Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation, as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency...
...The National Research Council's Committee on Remote Sensing for Development recently recommended that the U.S...
...If bold and farsighted decisions are made by the Carter administration in the next few months, both the President and the Earth's inhabitants should benefit...
...Economic Hang-up The reason that the Carter and previous administrations have not stepped out smartly under the Landsat banner is primarily economic...
...3) provide earlier warning of impending crop shortfalls due to adverse weather...
...Research teams from 50 countries and international organizations are currently studying and applying Landsat data...
...Landsat's capabilities have not escaped the view of the United States Department of Agriculture...
...Department of Interior...
...For example, in Landsat's eye, healthy crops may stand out in bright red, while diseased vegetation appears gray...
...Fully operational" implies a continuity in the quality of performance...
...The make-up of committee representation underscores the ubiquitous nat.ure of the anticipated use of Landsat data...
...Other earth resource-oriented disciplines such as the Environment, Water and Marine resources, Land Use, Mapping and Forestry are also benefitting from the current remote sensing capability...
...Avaricious use can lead to more precise exploitation of the have-nots...
...On board the satellite the photographic images are converted to radio I I I JAMES A. RALPH, /ormer Regional Director ]or the American Institute o/ Aeronautics and Astronautics, is currently a space applications manager at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida...
...Humane use of such a capability can lead to better production and fairer apportionment of the annual yield (and reserves) of foodstuffs...
...The intent of the proposed legislation, which would develop and establish both an earth resources and environmental information system, is, according to Senator Ford, the "development of a fully operational system of remote sensing satellites and associated distribution centers in order to provide the much needed continuity of data and information on the earth's limited resources and fragile environment...
...The bill, which espouses yet another management structure, was cosponsored by New Mexico's Republican Senator Harrison Schmitt, a former astronaut...
Vol. 104 • September 1977 • No. 19
