US space agency NASA is collaborating with the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC) for a programme on satellite observation to provide analysts and decision makers with information about environmental changes, the effects of agriculture and the health of forests and wetlands.

US space agency NASA is collaborating with the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC) for a programme on satellite observation to provide analysts and decision makers with information about environmental changes, the effects of agriculture and the health of forests and wetlands.

Speaking at an event on using satellite technology at the American Center HCM City on February 18, US consul general Marie Damour said, “The satellite observations that the NASA and VNSC are jointly making under the Land-Cover and Land-Use Change Program provide researchers with important data that will improve our world.

“The results of the work being done today by NASA and VNSC will generate important ideas and insights that will contribute to solving the most critical issues we face today: rapid urbanisation, air pollution, land subsidence, flooding, forest depletion, and water contamination.

“These are all pressing challenges, not just in mega cities like HCM City, but also in rural areas in the Mekong Delta and in many parts of the United States as well.”

NASA and VNSC are observing important environmental changes in rural and urban areas, she said, adding: “Understanding those changes is essential to protecting our environment and enacting effective policies to address and mitigate the effects of a natural world that is changing before our very eyes.

“Cooperation between US agencies like NASA and VNSC doesn’t just contribute to scientific advancement, it also strengthens our people-to-people ties and builds important linkages between institutions.” 

The event was organised in co-operation by NASA, the US’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the HCMC University of Technology, and VNSC.  

During the event, NASA Land-Cover and Land-Use Change (LCLUC) Programme Manager Dr. Garik Gutman provided a keynote address on LCLUC’s current coordination with the VNSC on the program which is an exciting example of how the US-Vietnam cooperation in space and technology can contribute to finding solutions to some of the most critical environmental challenges we face today, including urbanization, air pollution, flooding, and water contamination.

At the event, a panel discussion with experts after the keynote address focused on the programme and how it can be further used in Vietnam.

Lam Dao Nguyen, Director of the HCM City Space Technology Application Centre, said the event would not only enhance cooperation between Vietnamese and international researchers in improving ecosystem benefits through earth observations, but also bring opportunities for organisations to co-operate with each other in all aspects of satellite applications./.