European satellite support for rescue efforts in El Salvador
Earth monitoring satellites are now supporting rescue efforts in El Salvador in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck the region on 13 January. The member space agencies of the International charter on space and major disasters have dispatched satellites to capture images of the earthquake zone to help international rescue teams on the ground. Satellites within the jurisdiction of the International Charter on space and major disaster have been 're-tasked in emergency mode' in response to a request received through the French Civil Protection Agency on 15 January, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA's own ERS-2 radar satellite is one of the 'rescue constellation' that also includes the Canadian Space Agency's Radarsat-1 satellite and the French space agency's optical SPOT series. The satellites provide emergency services in El Salvador with images throughout the day and night and in all weather conditions, as well as up to date maps and information from archived and more recent images. The International Charter partners are coordinating all the satellites' positioning, operation and image capture. The International Charter on space and major disasters was set up in the framework of the UNISPACE III conference of the United Nations in 1999 and has been in force since 1 November 2000. Its current signatories are the European Space Agency (ESA), the French space agency (CNES) and the Canadian space agency (CSA).