Satellites could help in future natural disasters.

The article reports that a new type of satellite has been launched to help study the environment and assist in dealing with natural disasters. Satellite Monitor-E will image the Earth's surface in resolutions ranging from 25 feet in 56 mile-wide swathes to over 65 feet when the width of the image approached 100 miles. The data generated will be used in mapping, resource studies, emergency management, and monitoring agricultural crops and environmental damage. The U.S. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, which analyzes satellite images for the espionage community and combat troops, has provided scores of images of hard-hit areas before and after Hurricane Katrina. Future satellites will be able to record measurements at finer levels of geographic detail and across portions of the electromagnetic spectrum that will provide us new ways to look at the land, ocean, and atmosphere.