The attention of almost every country in the world was focused on Haïti after the major earthquake which struck on January 12th.
Satellites covered this tragic event from the space.
This ASA_IMP_1P Swath1, shows the first image acquired by ENVISAT satellite on 19 January 2010 over Port au Prince (Haiti).
More information on ESA's website
How satellites can help?
As early as January 15th, two humanitarian aid aircraft were dispatched to Haïti.
The Red Helmet Foundation, created by former minister Nicole Guedj, sent a first "Emergesat" satellite telecommunications container in the aircraft chartered by the Dept. of Foreign Affairs. This 600 kg container can be deployed in one hour to enable hundreds of people, within a radius of one kilometer of the container, to communicate with each other and with the rest of the world.
Developed by CNES and Thales Alenia Space, Emergesat also has several essential applications which can be used by the emergency aid teams from the moment they arrive on site: water analysis tools and a telemedecine kit to allow NGOs to assess the situation and to provide emergency aid to victims of the catastrophe.
| First images from SMOS satellite > |
|---|
