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From research conducted at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)

The TerraSAR and TanDEM-X Mission: Disaster aid and 3D maps of the earth

On 11 March 2011, the east coast of Japan was devastated by a tsunami. Just one day later the first satellite images were available to help emergency services plan their operations.

Map of flooded Higashi-Matsushima-Airport Sendai
The radar image produced by the Earth observation satellite TerraSAR-X on 12 March 2011 illustrates the tsunami’s impact on an airport on Japan’s eastern coast. The blue patches show flooding and the magenta areas the extent of infrastructure damage. Photo/Graphic: DLR.
map of Sendai after the tsunami
Photo/Graphic: DLR.
landscape
Photo/Graphic: DLR.

In order to ensure the images could be produced this quickly, DLR experts reprogrammed the two radar satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X at short notice and worked around the clock to process the resulting data for damage analysts in Japan. In contrast to data provided by optical satellites, radar data is not affected by cloud cover or the time of day and therefore always delivers clear images of flooded or destroyed areas. The actual goal of the TanDEM-X mission is to produce an elevation profile of the Earth’s surface by 2013 and to provide data for an elevation model that will be unique in the world. The special features of this 3D model will be its homogeneity and an accuracy of better than two metres. But the twin satellites are also capable of providing rapid aid in the case of natural catastrophes by supplying data for detailed maps of the affected areas.

DLR/red.