Brazil and Germany have signed an agreement to develop a night-vision radar satellite to observe the Amazon region, the National Space Research Institute (INPE) said Sunday.
The INPE plans to build the Multiple Application Synthetic Aperture Radar with the help of the German Space Center over 18 months, in the second satellite project undertaken by the two nations.
The 500-kg satellite, which will cost 100 million euros (157 million U.S. dollars), is capable of taking photos at night or in difficult weather conditions, such as heavy fog or smoke. Brazil's Amazon region is often cloudy and also suffers frequent forest fires.
According to the terms of the agreement signed last Monday, the satellite will be launched by 2013, the INPE said.
Researchers involved in the program will share their technical innovations during the mission, it added.
Source:Xinhua
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