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T O P I C S ***************************************
1. [[New Year Message]] Dr. Mustafa Din Subari, Acting
Director General of the National Space Agency of Malaysia (ANGKASA)
2. [[New Year Message]] Dr. Chin-Young Hwang, Director
of the Policy& International Relations Department,
the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)
3. [[New Year Message]] Dr. Jose Edgardo L. Aban, Technical
Secretariat of the Science and Technology Coordinating Council Committee
on Space Technology Applications (STCC-COSTA), the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST), Republic of the Philippines
4. Report on the Asian Conference on Remote Sensing (ACRS)
2007 by Dr.Salmah BINTI KASIM, Head of the Corporate Division of the
Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing (MACRES)
5. Observation of Amazon Rainforest by Japanese Earth
Observation
Satellite ALOS
6. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Updates - January
- March 2008]]
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1. [[New Year Message]] Dr. Mustafa Din Subari, Acting
Director General of the National Space Agency of Malaysia
(ANGKASA)
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The year 2007 was a fruitful year for us, especially with
the successful launch of our angkasawan (the Malay word for
astronaut) who went to the International Space Station (ISS).
We eagerly
look forward to achieving more things in 2008.
Malaysia's first operational Earth observation satellite,
Razaksat, is expected to be launched in the first quarter
of 2008. Hopefully by the middle of this year, its 5.0 meter
multispectral and
2.5 meter panchromatic images will be available for the remote
sensing community, especially those images covering the Near
Equatorial Region.
The year 2008 is also a year to begin our next satellite
development project, which concerns a medium-size geosynchronous
communication satellite. The Fixed Satellite System (FSS)
is intended to
provide communications pipes for governmental public services,
mainly for providing a much-needed backbone for the Multimedia
Super
Corridor (MSC) flagship programs such as e-government, e-health
and smart schools.
Full text of the message:
http://www.aprsaf.org/feature/feature_41.html#a
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2. [[New Year Message]] Dr. Chin-Young Hwang, Director
of the Policy& International Relations Department,
the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)
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South Korea has completed a new roadmap for Korean space
development and announced a plan to launch its first lunar
explorer by 2020. This coming April, Korea's first astronaut,
Mr. Ko San, will fly to the ISS in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft
for scientific missions. Korea's first spaceport Naro Space
Center is scheduled to be completed by early this year.
The Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV) program, which will
be a stepping-stone
for Korean space
activities, will
also be finished by the end of this year. This national
space program
will enable us to launch our own satellites from our land
using Korean rockets.
Last year, South Korea decided to participate in Sentinel
Asia Project, and this year we expect to be more involved
than ever in supporting disaster management in the Asia-Pacific
Region.
I confidently believe that the countries in Asia will
contribute to a better world through space development
programs and will become leading space nations sooner rather
than later.
Full text of the message:
http://www.aprsaf.org/feature/feature_41.html#b
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3. [[New Year Message]] Dr. Jose Edgardo L. Aban, Technical
Secretariat of the Science and Technology Coordinating
Council Committee on Space Technology Applications (STCC-COSTA),
the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST), Republic of the Philippines
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The year 2007 was a very dynamic and eventful year for
the Philippine Space Technology Applications sector in
general and in particular for our organization, the Science
and Technology Coordinating Council-Committee
on Space Technology Applications (STCC-COSTA).
The past year was monumental in that we were fortunate
to have co-hosted with the Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA) the Fourth Joint Project Team Meeting (JPTM4)
under the aegis
of the Sentinel Asia Project. Also, 2007 marked the holding
of the second biennial event, dubbed the National Congress
for Space Technology Applications and Research (NC-STAR),
which paves
the way
for bolder
steps by the Philippine government in implementing and
institutionalizing space technology application programs
that are current and relevant to the local needs and situations
in the Philippines.
We at the Secretariat of the STCC-COSTA would like to
extend our heartfelt felicitations for the New Year and
look forward to revitalized and renewed collaborations
with our neighbors, in pursuit of common, sustainable development
in the region.
Full text of the message:
http://www.aprsaf.org/feature/feature_41.html#c
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4. Report on the Asian Conference on Remote Sensing (ACRS)
2007 by Dr.Salmah BINTI KASIM, Head of the Corporate Division
of the Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing (MACRES)
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ACRS2007 was successfully held from November 12 to 16, 2007
at Kuala Lumpur. This is the third time that Malaysia has
hosted this event, the previous two being in 1989 and 1997.
A total of 863 participants attended
the conference from 20 countries. Besides technical presentations,
several workshops (a tsunami workshop and white elephant
and student sessions) and a plenary session
were also held. In all, 150 technical papers were presented
and 210 posters
on technical subjects were exhibited.
A total of 36 organizations from various agencies took part
in the exhibition, which was held throughout the conference's
duration. ACRS2007
served as a platform for intellectual discussions and the exchange
of ideas among scientists and researchers from various countries
who are involved in the application of space technology, aiming
to use advanced technologies to improve the quality of life
in the region.
ACRS2007 was very well received by participants from all
over the world, with the number of participants exceeding
all other previously held ACRS conferences. Technical visits
were organized to MACRES Headquarter and MACRES Ground Receiving
Station (MGRS). Social visits involving 65 participants were
also organized.
Full text of the message:
http://www.aprsaf.org/feature/feature_42.html
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5. Observation of Amazon Rainforest by Japanese Earth
Observation
Satellite ALOS
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The 13th Conference of Parties (COP13) of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) was held in
Bali, Indonesia from December 3 to 14, 2007.
"Forest Day" organized by the Indonesia Ministry of
Forest (MOF) and Center for International Forestry Research
(CIFOR) was set up on December 8 during the period of the
conference, and a side event was held called "Sustainable
management of Forests and Carbon: Modeling, Monitoring, and
Accounting for Forests and Carbon," which was organized by
the Forest Agency of Japan and the Global Environment Facility
(GEF).
At this
event, there were many
presentations
on monitoring techniques that use satellite information.
As one of the presentations, Dr. Masanobu Shimada, Research
Field Leader of Japan Exploration Agency (JAXA) along with
Dr. Ake Rosenqvist, from the European Commission of Joint
Research Center presented about the efficiency of techniques
for observing the Amazon Rainforest that use PALSAR (Phased
Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar) data from ALOS.
Dr. Shimada said "PALSAR is an L-band microwave sensor to
receive microwaves that, because they have a long wavelength
of 23.6 cm, can penetrate through cloud and rainfall and
acquire image data regardless of the weather or the time
of day. They can also partially penetrate forest and go through
to the ground. Therefore, PALSAR is suitable for observing
the Amazon Rainforest which is very cloudy in the rainy season.
Mastering the technique of analyzing PALSAR image data is
also very useful for observing illegal logging activities and
can help to
prevent deforestation."
Full text of the message:
http://www.aprsaf.org/feature/feature_40.html
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6. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Updates - January
- March 2008]]
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*January 14-25, 2008
Mountain GIS e-Conference
Kathmandu, Nepal
http://www.mtnforum.org/rs/ec/index.cfm?econfid=15
*January 17-18, 2008
ESRI Asia Pacific User Conference
Tokyo, Japan
http://gis2.esri.com/intldist/events/index.cfm
*February 6-8, 2008
Map India 2008
New Delhi, India
http://www.mapindia.org/
*February 26-29, 2008
IEEE-DEST 2008 - 2nd IEEE International Conference on Digital
Ecosystems
and Technologies
Phitsanulok, Thailand
http://www.ieee-dest.curtin.edu.au/2008/index.php
*March 3-7, 2008
International Conference on Rivers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya:
Ecology and Environmental Assessment
Kathmandu, Nepal
http://www.icimod.org/home/page.php?p=ann2
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Copyright 2008 The APRSAF Secretariat
APRSAF Secretariat
c/o. Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan
Roppongi First Bldg. 12F, 1-9-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
106-0032,
Japan
Tel:+81-3-5572-6708 / Fax:+81-3-5572-6707
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