Hamdan announces region’s first environmental satellite

Dubai: The region’s first satellite to monitor the environment was announced in a Saturday ceremony by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

The satellite, DMSAT1, can orbit the Earth 14 times a day, and can monitor land and sea with the help of multiple sensor types.

DMSAT1 aims to help Dubai authorities monitor and collect data to used in environmental studies, including climate change.

Two Dubai government bodies, the Dubai Municipality and the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre, are behind the satellite’s launch.

Dubai Municipality chief Hussain Lootah called the satellite a “quantum leap” in environment monitoring. A launch date for the satellite has not yet been announced.