Over 36,000 Historical RADARSAT-1 Satellite Images Now Freely Available
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Over 36,000 Historical RADARSAT-1 Satellite Images Now Freely Available

The Canadian Space Agency and the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation are making RADARSAT-1 synthetic aperture radar images of Earth available to researchers, industry and the public at no cost. The 36,500 images are available through the Government of Canada's Earth Observation Data Management System.

The RADARSAT-1 dataset is valuable for testing and developing techniques to reveal patterns, trends and associations that researchers may have missed when RADARSAT-1 was in operation. Access to these images will allow Canadians to make comparisons over time, for example, of sea ice cover, forest growth or deforestation, seasonal changes and the effects of climate change, particularly in Canada's North.

"Our government continually seeks to better understand the impact that humans are having on our environment. RADARSAT-1 has provided us with a comprehensive and valuable group of images of Canada from space. I am pleased that we are now sharing these images openly with Canadians so that they can chart environmental changes in our country over time.” said Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains.

This image release initiative is part of Canada's Open Government efforts to encourage novel big data analytic and data mining activities by users.

"MDA is proud to support the Government of Canada in making this valuable data available to the public. The RADARSAT program has and continues to provide a historical record of changes on our planet since the launch of RADARSAT-1 in 1995. MDA is excited to work with the government and industry partners on new approaches to extract valuable insights from this rich archive." said Mike Greenley, group president of MDA.

Canada's new Space Strategy places priority on acquiring and using space-based data to support science excellence, innovation and economic growth.

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