In an effort to enhance international space cooperation, Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) has set up a satellite data centre in Wenchang city in the country’s Hainan province, according to local media reports.
According to Sputnik News Agency, the satellite data centre will serve as an important hub for international exchange and cooperation in the area of satellite data and its application, the Wenchang authorities said on social media. This development follows the one on August 18, 2021, when space agency heads from five BRICS countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, signed an agreement on cooperation in sharing remote sensing satellite data.
Hainan is an island province of China and the nation’s southernmost point. It’s known for its tropical climate, beach resorts and forested, mountainous interior. Russian state space agency Roscosmos had pointed out earlier that this agreement would foster collaboration within BRICS in creating a virtual constellation of remote sensing satellites and data sharing, would contribute to addressing climate change, ensuring environmental protection and dealing with the effects of natural and man-made disasters, the news agency reported.
Meanwhile, China is set to build monitoring and defense systems. Wu Yanhua, deputy director of the CNSA, told China’s CCTV News recently that China will start to build an Earth-based and space-based NEA monitoring and warning system, in order to ensure the safe, stable and orderly operation of spacecraft, Xinhua News Agency reported.
China will categorise the risks posed by NEAs and explore techniques to neutralize those risks, said Wu.
