NASA Offers Satellite Technology to Help Fight Amazon Deforestation
2023-07-30
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1The American space agency NASA has offered its satellite technology to Brazil to help identify destruction in the Amazon rainforest.
2NASA Administrator Bill Nelson made the offer during a recent trip to Brazil.
3The NASA chief visited the country's space agency - the National Institute for Space Research - in the southeastern city of Jose dos Campos.
4Nelson's trip to South America also included visits to Argentina and Colombia.
5Brazilian Science Minister Luciana Santos showed Nelson around the institute and explained some of the space agency's programs.
6During a news conference, Nelson described one new NASA satellite that he said would be completed by January.
7He said the satellite, called NISAR, will even be able to capture images of what is happening in real time below the forest cover.
8"It is going to be able to look through the canopy of the jungle so that we can see if someone has burned the undergrowth and that would ultimately kill the big trees," Nelson said.
9NASA says the new satellite will support a project called SERVIR Amazonia.
10It helps provide Earth science data to scientists and decision-makers across the Amazon area to record environmental changes in near real-time.
11The project helps predict climate threats like deforestation and food insecurity.
12It can also provide data to emergency workers during natural disasters.
13Brazil's space agency has launched a series of satellites in partnership with China since 1999.
14Those satellites aim to gather data on agricultural operations and the environment.
15Brazil depends on satellite imagery to watch over the Amazon.
16But cloud cover often makes it difficult for satellites to capture clear and timely images.
17The NASA chief said the satellites NASA plans to place into orbit early next year will add an "extreme ability to understand what is happening" to the rainforest.
18Nelson, a former U.S. senator who once flew to space, also met with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia.
19After the meeting, he told reporters he thanked the president "for his continuous effort to save the Amazon rainforest."
20Nelson said that when he flew aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986, he witnessed the destruction of the rainforest by the different colors he could see from his spacecraft window.
21I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The American space agency NASA has offered its satellite technology to Brazil to help identify destruction in the Amazon rainforest. 2NASA Administrator Bill Nelson made the offer during a recent trip to Brazil. The NASA chief visited the country's space agency - the National Institute for Space Research - in the southeastern city of Jose dos Campos. Nelson's trip to South America also included visits to Argentina and Colombia. 3Brazilian Science Minister Luciana Santos showed Nelson around the institute and explained some of the space agency's programs. 4During a news conference, Nelson described one new NASA satellite that he said would be completed by January. He said the satellite, called NISAR, will even be able to capture images of what is happening in real time below the forest cover. 5"It is going to be able to look through the canopy of the jungle so that we can see if someone has burned the undergrowth and that would ultimately kill the big trees," Nelson said. 6NASA says the new satellite will support a project called SERVIR Amazonia. It helps provide Earth science data to scientists and decision-makers across the Amazon area to record environmental changes in near real-time. The project helps predict climate threats like deforestation and food insecurity. It can also provide data to emergency workers during natural disasters. 7Brazil's space agency has launched a series of satellites in partnership with China since 1999. Those satellites aim to gather data on agricultural operations and the environment. 8Brazil depends on satellite imagery to watch over the Amazon. But cloud cover often makes it difficult for satellites to capture clear and timely images. The NASA chief said the satellites NASA plans to place into orbit early next year will add an "extreme ability to understand what is happening" to the rainforest. 9Nelson, a former U.S. senator who once flew to space, also met with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia. After the meeting, he told reporters he thanked the president "for his continuous effort to save the Amazon rainforest." 10Nelson said that when he flew aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986, he witnessed the destruction of the rainforest by the different colors he could see from his spacecraft window. 11I'm Bryan Lynn. 12Reuters and NASA reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 13_____________________________________________ 14Words in This Story 15canopy - n. a cover or kind of roof used for protection or decoration 16ultimate - adj. better, worse or greater than all similar things 17_________________________________________________ 18What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 19Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.