Iran Earth Observation Systems
The background of the country’s involvement in the area of applications of space remote sensing techniques and utilization of data acquired by Earth observation satellites goes back to the launch of the first commercial Earth observing satellites (Landsat series).
Nowadays, the Earth resources monitoring and management agencies not only are using almost any available data taken by various Earth resources satellites but also are equipped with the most advanced facilities available for data analysis and integration through the use of GIS.
The main agencies involved in Earth resources remote sensing activities include IRSC (the national coordinating body for Earth observation activities), the Geological and Mineral Research Survey of the Islamic Republic of Iran, affiliated to the Ministry of Mines and Metals, the Forest and Range Organization, the Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Center, the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, the Iranian National Center for Oceanography, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.
To expand its capabilities and to help it meet the increasing demand for newly acquired remotely sensed data from space, IRSC has decided to establish a Multi-Mission Remote Sensing Ground Station, capable of receiving data in both S- and X-band frequencies acquired by existing and future satellites. In this connection, the receiving station for data acquisition from the Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor was put in service early in October 2001 in IRSC. In September 2002, the station was made capable of receiving data from the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, NCC, a national body responsible for topographic base maps and data production, is using GPS, designed for navigation purposes, for projects including the Triangulation Networking and National Leveling Project and its subsequent linkage with regional and international GPS networks, the National 1:25000 scale Topographic Mapping Project, geodesic surveying projects, accurate levelling projects, and the Determination of the Geoid of Iran.
Besides NCC, the National Geographical Organization of Iran is also enjoying invaluable archives of various satellite imagery, which has enabled it to offer technical services to other administrative bodies of the country.
Asian Research Satellite
In January 2000 the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported that the Asian Research Satellite would be launched by mid-2000 by China. The Asian Research Satellite is first multilateral research satellite built by Iran in collaboration with Pakistan and four other Asian countries (China, Korea, Indonesia and Mongolia). The manufacturing and launching of the satellite is estimated to cost around $40 million. The satellite will be launched from China and will be set in orbit at 800 km from the earth. In fact, by late 2004 there had been no further reports of this satellite.
