News Mails - 2014

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ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL SPACE AGENCY FORUM (APRSAF)
News Mail No. 120 Aug/29/2014
http://www.aprsaf.org/
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- * CONTENTS

• 1. News on APRSAF: APRSAF-21 Registration to open soon
• 2. News on APRSAF: APRSAF-21 Side Events
• 3. News on APRSAF: Expert's comment on SSAF2013
• 4. Event Calendar
• 5. Vietnam plans to use remote sensing in agriculture
• 6. Images from Hodoyoshi-3 and Hodoyoshi-4 published
• 7. Kazakhstan's minister appreciates its earth observation system
• 8. LAPAN discusses space activities' regulation and basic space plan

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* 1. News on APRSAF: APRSAF-21 Registration to open soon
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Online registration for APRSAF-21 will open in the middle of September. Following the First Announcement that was released in July, additional information on APRSAF-21 will be available through the Second Announcement. Both updates will be announced through our News Mail as well as on our website (http://www.aprsaf.org/).

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* 2. News on APRSAF: APRSAF-21 Side Events
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Following the APRSAF Secretariat's acceptance of Side Event requests in July, four Side Events have been approved to be held in conjunction with APRSAF-21. Outlines of the events are available on the following website, and further information will be posted in due course.
http://www.aprsaf.org/annual_meetings/aprsaf21/side_events.php

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* 3. News on APRSAF: Expert's comment on SSAF2013
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Space plant biology expert Dr. Kouichi Soga, associate professor at Osaka City University, has provided a comment about the SSAF 2013 program on the website of the Kibo Utilization Office for Asia (KUOA). He concludes his comment by pointing out the high educational effects of the program and the necessity for continuing it to involve more students.
*SSAF: Space Seeds for Asian Future

Dr. Soga's comment is available at
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/news/ssaf_140811.html.

A related article ("Interview with Dr. Soga," APRSAF Newsletter, No. 16, October 2013, page 6) is available at
http://www.aprsaf.org/newsmails_newsletters/pdf/Newsletter16.pdf.

Information about SSAF is available at
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/ssaf/.

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* 4. Event Calendar
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- International Conference on Space 2014: Space for Development
(8-10 Sep 2014, Islamabad, Pakistan)
http://suparco.gov.pk/pages/ICS-2014.asp

- The 9th SPIE Asia-Pacific Remote Sensing Symposium
(13-17 Oct 2014, Beijing, China)
http://spie.org/asia-pacific-remote-sensing.xml

- The 35th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing 2014
(27-31 Oct 2014, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar)
http://www.acrs2014.com/

- GIS/RS User Conference 2014
(24-28 Nov 2014, Suva, Fiji)
http://picgisrs.appspot.com/

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* 5. Vietnam plans to use remote sensing in agriculture
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On July 30, 2014, Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Le Quoc Doanh, announced the necessity of promoting the utilization of remote sensing technology in the field of agriculture and forest protection. In particular, the application of remote sensing technology is expected to help with the project of restructuring the agricultural sector in the Mekong River Delta, the Red River Delta, and the northern mountainous region.

References:
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development News
http://www.agroviet.gov.vn/en/Pages/news_detail.aspx?NewsId=1087
- UN SPIDER News
http://www.un-spider.org/news-and-events/news/viet-nam-boost-use-satellite-technology-agriculture

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* 6. Images from Hodoyoshi-3 and Hodoyoshi-4 published
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Two micro-satellites, Hodoyoshi-3 and Hodoyoshi-4, have started sending their captured images to be published on their Facebook page and YouTube channel. The two satellites, developed by the University of Tokyo, Japan, were launched on June 20, 2014, by the Dnepr launch vehicle. Hodoyoshi-3 carries cameras with 40m and 200m ground sample distance (GSD), while Hodoyoshi-4 has a 6m GSD camera.

References:
The University of Tokyo
http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/utokyo-research/research-news/micro-satellites-hodoyoshi-3-4-start-capturing-earth-images/
Hodoyoshi 3-4 Satellite Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/hodoyoshisat
Hodoyoshi 3-4 YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHa2MAvyiSo

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* 7. Kazakhstan's minister appreciates its earth observation system
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At a press briefing on July 17, 2014, Vladimir Bozhko, Minister for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, expressed appreciation for the contribution of the country's earth observation satellite system in the monitoring of natural fires. Kazakhstan launched KazEOSat-1 and KazEOSat-2 earlier this year, and according to Bozhko, the test operation of the earth observation system using the satellites detected 56 cases of natural fires, which allowed emergency response teams to take prompt countermeasures to prevent damages from spreading. Bozhko said he expected the acquisition of even higher-quality data in the future.

Reference:
- Prime Minister of Kazakhstan News (in Russian)
http://www.primeminister.kz/news/show/27/sistema-dzz-pozvoljaet-znachitelno-sokratit-ploschadi-pozharov-i-uscherb-ot-nih-vbozhko/17-07-2014

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* 8. LAPAN discusses space activities' regulation and basic space plan
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The National Institute of Aeronautics and Space of Indonesia (LAPAN) held a meeting in Jakarta on July 23 and 24, 2014, discussing a draft regulation on the implementation of space-related activities and a draft executive order on the implementation of a basic plan on space. The meeting was chaired by LAPAN Chairman Dr. Thomas Djamaluddin and was attended by officers at the deputy secretary level, experts involved in drawing up the drafts, and members of working groups.

Reference:
- LAPAN News (in Indonesian)
http://lapan.go.id/index.php/subblog/read/2014/741/Lapan-Susun-RPP-Penyelenggaraan-Keantariksaan/berita

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Copyright 2014 The APRSAF Secretariat

APRSAF News Mails are distributed to update the readers on recent developments in space-related activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

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We welcome your updates on space-related activities and also your comments and suggestions to the APRSAF secretariat.

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APRSAF Secretariat
c/o Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
ochanomizu sola city, 4-6 Kandasurugadai, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 101-8008 Japan
Tel: +81-50-3362-5880 / Fax: +81-3-5209-3208
E-mail: secretariataprsaf.org
Web: http://www.aprsaf.org
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