Nasa to assist with climate change aims

A House committee met with a US official from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) to discuss space-related programmes that can assist Thailand’s climate change mitigation efforts.

Col Settapong Malisuwan, vicechairman of the House committee on communications, telecommunications, and digital economy and society, said the committee met Nasa’s Earth Science Division director Karen St Germain on Wednesday.

The main focus of the meeting was discussing the SERVIR-Southeast Asia programme, Col Settapong said.

The programme — a collaborative effort between USAID and Nasa — is aimed at assisting communities across the Asean region in dealing with climate change issues.

The meeting discussed the utilisation of satellites to help reduce the impact of climate change.

Nasa has also agreed to assist Thailand with education and space research, Col Settapong said.

The House committee is overseeing efforts to build on the kingdom’s space ambitions, among them a space technology laboratory and knowledge hub for the North. The committee is also looking into human resource development, the establishment of a spaceport and a local space industry.

“We have set clear goals for Thailand’s space industry, but we need support from government agencies and the private sector,” said Col Settapong.

“Nasa’s knowledge will be of great benefit to Thailand as we move towards such goals,” he said. “Space one day will not be a distant matter for Thais.”

Meanwhile, deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said Thailand would launch two Thailand Earth Observation System (THEOS) satellites this year.

One is the THEOS-2, a 425-kilogramme main satellite to take images for security purposes and disaster management. The other is a THEOS-2A, a small 100kg satellite which is tasked with resource exploration.