Israeli, French space agencies present out-of-this-world new mission

Climate change collaboration of cosmic proportions is set to be launched on August 1.

By REUTERS
Updated: JULY 20, 2017 16:50
French, Israeli space agencies present climate change observation mission (Reuters)
France's National Center for Space Studies presented its new climate change observation mission, VENuS, in Paris on Thursday, which has been designed in collaboration with Israel Space Agency.
The VENuS mission (Vegetation and Environment monitoring on a New micro-statellite) aims at observing 110 scientific sites on five continents every two days, a "unique" and "world first" frequency, according to Venus project leader Pierric Ferrier. It will closely monitor the impact of human activity on vegetation as well as on water and carbon influxes.
In all, more than 40 countries are home to observed sites, with 24 percent of the selected observed sites located in the United States.
President of the French National Center For Space Studies Jean-Yves Le Gall hailed France's and Israel's collaboration on the project.
The VENuS satellite will be launched on August 1 in French Guyana, with its mission set to last for three and a half years.