Satellite view of the Earth (illustration).

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NASA / Cover Images / SIPA

The first 100% Brazilian satellite, Amazonia 1, which will provide data on deforestation, was successfully launched this Sunday in India.

Amazonia 1 will be the third satellite to join the DETER system, a real-time deforestation monitoring program for the Brazilian Amazon rainforest of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).

“Amazonia 1 will provide images for monitoring the environment and agriculture throughout Brazil (…).

It will also be used to monitor the coastal region, water reserves, environmental disasters, among other applications, ”detailed the INPE, which has worked for eight years on the development of the national satellite.

Stunning glimpses of today's lift-off # PSLVC51 # Amazonia1 #NSIL #INSPACe pic.twitter.com/MQJzAROxaV

- ISRO (@isro) February 28, 2021

Alert the police to suspicious activity

Amazonia, 1,637 kilos for 44.4 meters, will transmit images every five days.

"National production, national design, national use", welcomed the Minister of Science and Technology, Marcos Pontes, on social networks on the eve of the launch.

The Brazilian Amazon rainforest lost 8,426 km2 in 2020 due to deforestation.

Although this figure is 8% lower than the previous year, it remains extremely worrying in the opinion of specialists who question the policies of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

The INPE receives daily low-resolution images from satellites of forest clearing, agricultural expansion and land use, and can, very quickly, alert the police to suspicious activity.

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  • Amazonia

  • Science

  • Space

  • Deforestation

  • Brazil

  • Satellite