Rome's Olympic Stadium, the Tiber
river and St Peter's Square are the first images released Friday
by Pathfinder HEO (Hawk for Earth Observation), the first
satellite launched in January 2025 of the satellite internet
constellation Iris, the earth observation program funded through
the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and coordinated
by the European Space Agency (ESA) with the support of the
Italian Space Agency (ASI).
"It isn't only an image of quality but an image that shows the
know-how of all those who contributed to reach this moment",
said Simonetta Cheli, the director of the European Space
Agency's program for earth observation.
The image of Rome is part of a shot of central Italy which
includes the city of Fano on the Adriatic coast, the central
Apennines and the coastal town of Ostia near the capital.
Overall, Iris will be a constellation of satellite families, 68
in total including 25 of the HEO type.
The data provided will mainly focus on Italy to help local and
regional public authorities monitor the quality of air, climate
and water resources as well as map earthquake-related ground
movements and for emergency and security services, among others.
"This today is the first extraordinary step towards the start of
Iris's operations and shows the ability of our industrial
network", said Francesco Longo, the direction of Observation of
the Earth and Operations at ASI.
The project is funded with 1.1 billion euros mainly coming from
NRRP funds and has involved 70 companies distributed across
Italy.
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