3.01.2005
'Space and Major Disasters' Charter: Update
It's only the first of March, and already it's been a busy year for members of the Space and Major Disasters Charter (or officially, the Charter On Cooperation To Achieve The Coordinated Use Of Space Facilities In The Event Of Natural Or Technological Disasters).
You don't have to read the full text; basically, the Space and Major Disasters Charter is an international network of space partners putting "space technology at the service of rescue authorities in the event of a major disaster."
And it's not just about satellite images of tsunamis. The Charter's slick Web site, at disasterscharter.org, includes a showcase of recent charter activations around the world in which Charter member agencies responded to international disasters, including post-Indian Ocean tsunami events such as the earthquake in Iran, landslides in Venezuela, floods in Pakistan and Guyana, even hurricane-force winds in Sweden. See how space agencies step in to lend a hand.
(And Space Law Probe applauds any international agreement that has its own dynamic, up-to-the-minute Web site not to mention nifty domain, like disasterscharter.org.)
Charter members include NOAA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Indian Space Research Organization, and other good-Samaritan space agencies and organizations. And last week, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) signed on.
You don't have to read the full text; basically, the Space and Major Disasters Charter is an international network of space partners putting "space technology at the service of rescue authorities in the event of a major disaster."
And it's not just about satellite images of tsunamis. The Charter's slick Web site, at disasterscharter.org, includes a showcase of recent charter activations around the world in which Charter member agencies responded to international disasters, including post-Indian Ocean tsunami events such as the earthquake in Iran, landslides in Venezuela, floods in Pakistan and Guyana, even hurricane-force winds in Sweden. See how space agencies step in to lend a hand.
(And Space Law Probe applauds any international agreement that has its own dynamic, up-to-the-minute Web site not to mention nifty domain, like disasterscharter.org.)
Charter members include NOAA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Indian Space Research Organization, and other good-Samaritan space agencies and organizations. And last week, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) signed on.
