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.