In an increasingly complex world, where the exploration and excessive use of terrestrial natural resources are a tangible fact, it is necessary to consider and propose strategies in order to make reasonable use of them. In turn, maritime resources are exploited in the same way, violating even the limits established by international agreements.
This emphasizes the strategic decision to consider Argentina as a bicontinental country with a southern and maritime outlook. Emphasizing the protection and monitoring of our territory, which has a maritime coastline of more than 4,700 km in length, added to the more than 11,000 km of Argentine Antarctica and southern islands, constituting one of the largest in the world. Likewise, the preservation of the oceans is a national priority that is part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development promoted within the United Nations, which aims in its objective number 14 at the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and resources. marines.
To achieve compliance, the development of aerospace and satellite technologies has become an essential tool for the study and protection of the seas and oceans, as well as for the development of the blue economy and the defense of Argentine national sovereignty.
In this context, the SABIA-MAR project (Satellite of Applications Based on Environmental Information of the Sea) arises as an initiative of the Ministry of Defense of Argentina with the objective of strengthening national sovereignty and the sustainable use of the resources of the Argentine Sea.
He SABIA-MAR project seeks to develop a state-of-the-art satellite platform that allows the monitoring and management of maritime resources, as well as the detection of illegal activities at sea. In addition, it will provide valuable information for the scientific and productive field, articulating with the inter-ministerial initiative Blue Pampa.
The project is part of the National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan 2030, which seeks to gradually increase investment in the sector by 2032, reaching 1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In addition, it intends to contribute to universal access to equitable and quality health, develop the space, aeronautical, telecommunications and defense industry sectors, strengthen maritime research, sovereignty, among others. The plan is currently being implemented, but in order to grant predictability and for it to become a state policy, it is necessary for the Chamber of Deputies to convert it into Law. The project has had a medium sanction in Senators (58 votes in favor and only 1 against) since 2022, the latest “advances” arose from the debate in the “Science, technology and productive innovation” commission on March 21 and June 1 of 2023.
Within this framework and with a Plan that is executed in an articulated way between different sectors of the State, INVAP plays a very important role, generating meteorological radars and three-dimensional surveillance radars. Currently, hehe company is working on SABIA-MAR together with various public institutions and private companies from the national scientific and technical system, such as the National Commission for Space Activities (CONAE), the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), the Argentine Institute of Radio Astronomy (IAR), the University of La Plata (UNLP), VENG, Ascentio, IMER Antennasamong others.
Also, the Mission Critical Design Review (MCDR) was successfully completed at the end of April, where in addition to the main providers of the mission, expert reviewers from space agencies and other international institutions such as the National Aeronautics Administration and the Space (NASA), the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES), the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) and the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Likewise, representatives of the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the international space engineering and consulting services company Solenix, from Italy, the United States and Germany, respectively, participated virtually.
Broadly speaking, the payload of the satellite will allow obtaining information from the sea with spatial resolutions of 200 and 800 meters for studies related to the primary productivity of the sea, oceanic and coastal ecosystems, the carbon cycle, biodiversity, marine environment and quality of water on the coasts. Additionally, thanks to the information obtained, it will facilitate decision-making related to the management of fishing resources, aquaculture and tourism, improving and protecting the productive sectors.
In this way, the fact of deepening in satellite technology shows once again the maturity of Argentina in the sector, including the articulation with other countries, something that has been evident for a long time and reaffirmed with the mission SAOCOM 1A and 1B in which they worked together with the Italian Space Agency (ASI).
Additionally, on May 23 and 24, 2023, the LATSAT Congress was held again at the Kirchner Cultural Center, organized by Euroconsult Group and ARSAT. In which public and private decision makers from the satellite sector linked to connectivity and Earth observation in Latin America met with the aim of establishing relationships, discussing the evolution of the sector.
These new tools will make it possible to link and work between different sectors such as SMEs, cooperatives, unions, social organizations and universities, generating opportunities for development in various areas of our bicontinental country.
Being one more bet to prop up a strategic sector, while we monitor and defend the sovereignty of our vast territory, both in space and on earth.
Telecommunications Engineer, Master in Engineering Sciences (UNRC) and Diploma in Strategic Anticipation and Risk Management (UNDEF). Director of the Observatory of Energy, Science and Technology (OECYT) associated with the Pueblo y Ciencia platform.
Source: Ambito
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