Argentina Bets on $600m Satellite to Boost Agriculture Sector
Argentina is launching a new microwave imaging satellite to monitor natural disasters and soil moisture, in a long-term bid to bolster the farm sector, an industry that has historically been the backbone of the country’s economy, according to an article by Reuters.
Scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Oct. 6, Argentina’s SAOCOM 1a satellite ‘is going to boost the high quality precision agriculture Argentina relies on,’ president Mauricio Macri told farmers and industry representatives last week.
Scientists say the soil and subsurface mapping data provided by the $600 million dollar project should help increase crop yields.
The radar antennae technology will allow Argentina to access a real time ‘water map,’ almost unique in the world, which will allow for prediction of harvest yields, floods, and droughts, the government said.
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