Japan, RI develop radar

Japan, RI develop radar

Tokyo (UPI): Japan said it will develop a satellite-based radar system to detect underground mineral resources in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, Australia and Indonesia.

Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry and five Japanese space equipment makers will provide most of the technology and funding for the US$100 million project, a ministry official said.

Australia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to provide data on the surface area in their countries.

The ministry plans to launch a satellite with the radar system aboard by 2001.

From orbit, the radar will analyze the ground surface to detect signs of underground mineral resources such as oil, natural gas and non-ferrous metal, the official said.

Existing resource monitoring systems use optical censors and are vulnerable to bad weather. The system under development would use radio waves and would not be effected by weather, the ministry said.

The project will be Japan's first space development program in cooperation with countries other than the United States and Europe.