File image for illustration purposes
Zimbabwe will launch its second earth observation satellite, ZimSat-2, on Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in the country’s fledgling space programme that started in 2018 with the creation of the Zimbabwe National Geo-Spatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA).
ZimSat-2 is scheduled to be launched from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amu Oblast, Russia, contingent on favourable weather conditions.
The cubesat was designed and manufactured through a collaborative research programme between ZINGSA and Southwest State University (SWSU), one of the top public universities in Kursk, Russia.
ZINGSA engineers and students on the Presidential scholarship programme were part of the team that developed the satellite, from the mission design to the flight model.
ZimSat-2 will monitor the Earth using a multispectral camera with an 8-metre spatial resolution, supporting missions that keep track of crop health, predicting yields and identifying nutrient deficiencies.
It will also aid geological research, identifying potential mineral resources, while assisting in urban mapping by producing detailed maps of infrastructure and natural features.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, ZINGSA coordinator Dr Painos Gweme said: “Launch (of the satellite) is scheduled for November 5, if all weather conditions permit.”
A report from the space agency detailing progress of the satellite development states: “The main payload is a multispectral camera with a spatial resolution of eight (8m) metres.
“This camera supports the following missions: agriculture applications.
“Data collected from this mission will be useful in the investigation and monitoring of crop health, yields prediction, detection of plants’ nutrient deficiencies, classifying vegetation types and calculation of normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI).”
NDVI is a metric used in remote sensing to assess the health and density of vegetation over large areas.
It is calculated using the difference between the near-infrared (NIR) and visible (red) light reflected by vegetation, which are captured by sensors on satellites like ZimSat-2.
Healthy, dense vegetation reflects more NIR light and absorbs more visible light, resulting in higher NDVI values, while sparse or unhealthy vegetation reflects less NIR and more visible light, giving lower NDVI values.
The report continues: “It will also help with geological studies and collected data from ZimSat-2 can be used to identify and classify potential mineral and material areas.
“The satellite can also do urban mapping and the collected satellite images can be used to create detailed maps of buildings, roads, vegetation, dams, lakes and other urban features.”
The satellite, according to ZINGSA, is also useful for climate change monitoring.
“Data collected from ZimSat-2 can be used to monitor the earth energy imbalance, which is the difference between the amount of energy the earth receives from the sun and the amount it loses to space.”
The satellite has a design lifespan of five years.
Presently, ZINGSA is finalising upgrading its satellite ground control station at the Mazowe Earth Station to enhance its capacity to receive data from the new satellite.
“The satellite does not work as a stand-alone system; ZINGSA has set up a ground control station at Mazowe Earth Station for commanding and controlling ZimSat-1 satellite,” reads the report.
“However, the existing ground station has frequency band limitations to be compatible with ZimSat-2, hence there was need for an upgrade in collaboration with SWSU.
“Through this collaboration, Mazowe Ground Station will be fully upgraded by November 20 to a commercial grade level, capable to receive L, S, X-Band and U/VHF.”
Zimbabwe’s first satellite -ZimSat-1- was launched on November 7, 2022 and later released into orbit on December 2 the same year.
It was launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, United States, as part of the BIRDS-5 constellation, along with Uganda’s Pear AfricaSat-1.
The satellites were then released from the Japanese Kibo module on the International Space Station (ISS) on November 21, 2022.
Zimbabwe is among a handful of African countries that include South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda that have satellites in orbit.
The Sunday Mail
