Satellite Imaging Helps in Haiti Relief Efforts

January 18th, 2010

The world of technology isn’t just for entertainment purposes. We can use it in any way possible. It helps with so many rescue efforts these days that it is probably not all that newsworthy when something like satellites is linked to helping relief efforts after disasters such as Haiti. Of course it is still interesting to me. Besides being helps to medical marvels like treating something like eczema, or replacing a heart, technology can help us see things that we would never be able to see with out it.

NASA and space agencies around the world are pointing their satellites toward Haiti to aid relief efforts and map damage caused by the devastating earthquake earlier this week.

The 7.0 magnitude quake struck the Caribbean island Tuesday, causing extensive destruction and fatalities estimated in the tens of thousands.

NASA’s Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), a joint project with Japan, and its Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite are taking images of Haiti’s hardest-hit areas in multiple wavelengths of light.

Ground teams are comparing these pictures to pre-quake photos to assess the damage, and to help rescue and relief workers know where to focus their efforts, agency officials said.