A cooperation between Embrapa and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) will enable the operation of Carponis-1, a high-resolution Brazilian satellite, capable of generating images with details of up to 70 cm and of walking around the planet each hour and a half. The project is in charge of the FAB and Embrapa will be civil operator of the equipment. The research company will use the spatial images in studies of food, fiber and energy production in the country.
According to Lieutenant Bruno Mattos, FAB, the Brazilian satellite has the potential to generate savings of more than 75% in the cost per km² of the images, compared to the amounts paid by the government in bids.
Embrapa Territorial (SP) has used satellite images in its works for almost 30 years. However, the reliance on high resolution images acquired by satellites controlled by other countries imposes limitations, in addition to high costs. Typically, you work with the images that are available in the catalogs of the companies that market them. Another possibility is to order the records, however, this takes time between the request and the delivery.
The operation of a satellite through Brazil will allow more autonomy and speed. “We can program and direct the satellite to acquire images of specific targets. This will avoid the purchase of obsolete images and will optimize the response time in receiving these images, “notes the Deputy Chief of Research and Development of Embrapa Territorial, Lucíola Magalhães. She is also a member of the Advisory Group of the Coordination Commission for the Implementation of Space Systems (CCISE), a body that articulates the Strategic Space Systems Program (PESE).
Better monitoring of ILPF and aquaculture
The differential of Carponis-1 is in high spatial and temporal resolution. Satellite-coupled sensors are expected to deliver sharp images below one meter and three to five days apart. Today, Brazil operates only one space system, in partnership with China. But the best resolution obtained from it is five meters and interval of up to 26 days between records.
In order to have an idea of the gain with the sub-scale, in the images with resolution of four meters, each pixel is equivalent to an area of 16 m². Already those of a meter of resolution reflect 1 m² per pixel. With better and more easily available images, Embrapa Territorial expects to advance, for example, in the monitoring of the areas of Agricultural-Livestock-Forest Integration (ILPF), an expanding production system in the country. “It is very difficult with medium resolution satellites to identify them. Even with high resolution, this mapping will not be a simple task, “says Magalhães.
Work with aquaculture would also benefit from a high-resolution Brazilian satellite. Currently, Embrapa is developing a strategic territorial intelligence system for the segment. The first step is to identify, in spatial images, the location of tanks excavated for breeding aquatic animals. “When you work with medium- or low-resolution images, it’s difficult to be sure that a certain point corresponds to an aquaculture tank, given the different types of aquaculture,” says the deputy chief. The expectation is that, with better definition material, the work will gain assertiveness.
Lower pickup intervals
The researchers also expect to increase the studies by generating material with a shorter time interval. The biggest gain is the chance of obtaining cloud-free images, one of the main factors that compromise visibility in regions of high humidity, such as the Brazilian coast and the Amazon region. In agriculture, making pictures more often becomes even more important as the main stages of crop development occur in the rainy season.
The time between the capture of the image in the national territory and its download by the user must be less than two hours, according to Lieutenant Bruno Mattos, coordinator of the project Carponis-1. If the area of interest is outside Brazil, this range increases, but it should not reach 12 hours.
The type of sensor embedded in the satellite is also decisive for the work in agriculture. In addition to the bands that generate the color photography of the terrain (red, green and blue – RGB), “at least one band in the near infrared (NIR) is indispensable”, says Magalhães. Her presence is the first step in using precision farming imagery. With this feature, in addition to the visual interpretation, the technicians have spectral information that can give indications about the health of the plantation in a certain area, for example. Identification of nutritional deficiencies and productivity estimates are other applications. “The more spectral bands, the more information we get on a terrestrial object,” he explains.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.