Andrew Yee[_1_]
April 25th 08, 05:45 PM
ESA News
http://www.esa.int
24 April 2008
Successful cooperation extends Dragon Programme
Following the success of the Dragon Programme, more than 300 leading
European and Chinese scientists have gathered from 21 to 25 April 2008 in
Beijing in the People's Republic of China to present their results and to
kick off the programme's second phase, Dragon 2.
The Dragon Programme is a joint undertaking between ESA and the Ministry of
Science and Technology (MOST) of China designed to encourage increased
exploitation of ESA and Chinese Earth Observation (EO) satellite data within
China.
Opening the Dragon 1 final symposium and Dragon 2 Kick-Off symposium, ESA's
Director for Legal Affairs and External Relations Mr Rene Oosterlinck said:
"The Sino-European Dragon Programme is a cooperation of which we are very
proud. In terms of organisation, it is a small programme but one that has
yielded great scientific results. By pooling Chinese and European capacities
together, we are achieving much better results than if we had done it
separately.
"In today's globalised world, Earth Observation from Space can contribute to
the solution of universal problems and issues, such as environmental
monitoring and food security, only if we all continue to cooperate together
and projects such as Dragon are a good start."
In his opening address, Deputy Director General of High and New Technology
Development and Industrialization of MOST Liao Xiaohan said: "The Dragon
Programme has become the model of Sino-European science and technology
cooperation. The successful first phase of the Dragon Programme has promoted
cooperation between remote sensing experts from China and Europe, enhanced
remote sensing technological capability of China and Europe, generated
positive and extensive international implications and created a foundation
for a more in-depth partnership as the next step."
"Europe, over the last 30 years, has established itself as one of the
leading players in Earth Observation. Scientific and operational missions,
deployed by ESA, EUMETSAT and their Member States, allow coverage for a wide
range of domains in Earth sciences and in applications," said ESA's Stefano
Bruzzi, Head of EO Programme Planning & Coordination Service.
"This impressive capacity has been built from the beginning in a framework
of international cooperation which ESA intends to pursue and enlarge in
future years. Dragon is a very good example of the way ahead."
The Dragon 1 Programme, which began in April 2004, sought to stimulate
increased scientific cooperation in EO science and applications between
China and Europe.
Under Dragon 1, there were 16 projects exploiting data from ESA EO missions,
including agricultural and forest monitoring, water resource assessment,
atmospheric chemistry, terrain measurement, the ocean environment and
climate change.
The projects' outstanding scientific results were presented at the Dragon 1
final symposium and the final scientific publications are now available.
Unlike Dragon 1, Dragon 2 will provide European and Chinese scientists with
equal access to the data available from relevant ESA and Chinese EO
satellites.
Dragon 2 will continue to pair lead and young scientists together, organise
training seminars, offer advanced courses and provide academic exchanges and
training programmes for European and Chinese scientists.
Under Dragon 2, the number of projects has been increased to 25 following an
Announcement of Opportunity, in which 52 proposals were received. The
projects will cover the following themes: atmospheric studies, topographic
mapping, hydrology, sea-ice monitoring, coastal-zones monitoring, land
environment, geology, renewable resources, oceanography, hazards, large
sports events and the calibration and validation of satellite data.
EO satellites are particularly useful for monitoring and understanding
environmental phenomena in China, the world's third largest country, because
of the country's sheer size and various types of terrain, which range from
Himalayan peaks to tropical lowlands.
Dragon 2 EO data delivery will commence in May 2008 and continue for four
years. More information will be available via the Dragon 2 website on 28
April 2008.
[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM8WRYZDFF_index_1.html ]
http://www.esa.int
24 April 2008
Successful cooperation extends Dragon Programme
Following the success of the Dragon Programme, more than 300 leading
European and Chinese scientists have gathered from 21 to 25 April 2008 in
Beijing in the People's Republic of China to present their results and to
kick off the programme's second phase, Dragon 2.
The Dragon Programme is a joint undertaking between ESA and the Ministry of
Science and Technology (MOST) of China designed to encourage increased
exploitation of ESA and Chinese Earth Observation (EO) satellite data within
China.
Opening the Dragon 1 final symposium and Dragon 2 Kick-Off symposium, ESA's
Director for Legal Affairs and External Relations Mr Rene Oosterlinck said:
"The Sino-European Dragon Programme is a cooperation of which we are very
proud. In terms of organisation, it is a small programme but one that has
yielded great scientific results. By pooling Chinese and European capacities
together, we are achieving much better results than if we had done it
separately.
"In today's globalised world, Earth Observation from Space can contribute to
the solution of universal problems and issues, such as environmental
monitoring and food security, only if we all continue to cooperate together
and projects such as Dragon are a good start."
In his opening address, Deputy Director General of High and New Technology
Development and Industrialization of MOST Liao Xiaohan said: "The Dragon
Programme has become the model of Sino-European science and technology
cooperation. The successful first phase of the Dragon Programme has promoted
cooperation between remote sensing experts from China and Europe, enhanced
remote sensing technological capability of China and Europe, generated
positive and extensive international implications and created a foundation
for a more in-depth partnership as the next step."
"Europe, over the last 30 years, has established itself as one of the
leading players in Earth Observation. Scientific and operational missions,
deployed by ESA, EUMETSAT and their Member States, allow coverage for a wide
range of domains in Earth sciences and in applications," said ESA's Stefano
Bruzzi, Head of EO Programme Planning & Coordination Service.
"This impressive capacity has been built from the beginning in a framework
of international cooperation which ESA intends to pursue and enlarge in
future years. Dragon is a very good example of the way ahead."
The Dragon 1 Programme, which began in April 2004, sought to stimulate
increased scientific cooperation in EO science and applications between
China and Europe.
Under Dragon 1, there were 16 projects exploiting data from ESA EO missions,
including agricultural and forest monitoring, water resource assessment,
atmospheric chemistry, terrain measurement, the ocean environment and
climate change.
The projects' outstanding scientific results were presented at the Dragon 1
final symposium and the final scientific publications are now available.
Unlike Dragon 1, Dragon 2 will provide European and Chinese scientists with
equal access to the data available from relevant ESA and Chinese EO
satellites.
Dragon 2 will continue to pair lead and young scientists together, organise
training seminars, offer advanced courses and provide academic exchanges and
training programmes for European and Chinese scientists.
Under Dragon 2, the number of projects has been increased to 25 following an
Announcement of Opportunity, in which 52 proposals were received. The
projects will cover the following themes: atmospheric studies, topographic
mapping, hydrology, sea-ice monitoring, coastal-zones monitoring, land
environment, geology, renewable resources, oceanography, hazards, large
sports events and the calibration and validation of satellite data.
EO satellites are particularly useful for monitoring and understanding
environmental phenomena in China, the world's third largest country, because
of the country's sheer size and various types of terrain, which range from
Himalayan peaks to tropical lowlands.
Dragon 2 EO data delivery will commence in May 2008 and continue for four
years. More information will be available via the Dragon 2 website on 28
April 2008.
[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM8WRYZDFF_index_1.html ]