The Open University and their project TreeView is one of eleven UK organisations to have been awarded a share of just under £7 million of government funding to put into action the latest advances in space innovation.
A satellite which will classify and monitor trees from space is among climate change and security projects that have just received new funding from the UK Space Agency.
Monitoring the health of trees
An OU team led by Dr James Endicott and Dr Kadmiel Maseyk will develop the mission concept for TreeView, a forestry and management tool that will support a nature-based solution to tackling climate change by monitoring the health of trees from space.
The new funding of £477,456 will enable it to progress from the feasibility study to a Preliminary Design Review which is a significant milestone in the development of a space mission.
Further funding will be required for future phases and the goal is to be ready to launch the satellite by the end of 2024, and then to operate it for five years.
Three further projects are also located in the Arc, and include a research project from the University of Cambridge into high resolution thermal infrared space telescopes for globally monitoring the energy efficiency of buildings .
