As NASA launches its most detailed mission yet toMars, Southeast Asian nations are also working on space programmes, albeit on amuch smaller scale. What is in it for them and how are they making it work?

By John Pennington

As NASA looks for signs oflife on Mars, it seems an odd time for Myanmar to focus on sendingsatellites into space while civil conflicts rage on the ground and thenation battles the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the country is not interested in exploring newfrontiers or entering a space race to prove its technological prowess. Itsspace programme, developed in collaboration with experts at Hokkaido Universityand Tohuku University in Japan, aims to improve connectivity, mitigate theimpacts of natural disasters and boost crop production.

Myanmar first stepped up its space plans in 2017 when itset up a steering committee to develop its own satellite system. In August2019, it launched Myanmar-sat2 todeliver improved broadband and video distribution services.

As Myanmar aims to get 95% of its population online by 2022, the new satellite means they no longer have to pay upwards of US$10 million per year to rent satellite channels from China, Thailand, the US and Vietnam. The savings will go towards covering some of the US$155.7 million Myanmar spent on its launch.

One of the reasons that Myanmar wants to build and launch itsown satellites is to save money. Seven engineers from the Myanmar AerospaceEngineering University were due to go to Japan in March to begin their trainingwith a view to designing, building and launching twosatellites in the next five years.

These will be microsatellites weighing no more than 50kilogrammes and measuring around 50 centimetres per side. They will enablescientists in Myanmar to monitor weather systems, crops and land usagefromurbanisation to spotting illegal activity such as logging and mining.

COVID-19 delayed the engineers departure but the cost of theprogrammefunded by Myanmars governmentwill be US$16million, a fraction of what it would cost to build and launch thetype of large satellites that Southeast Asian nations cannot afford.

Its simply less expensive if we build our own satellite, said KyiThwin, the aerospace universitys rector, adding that the programme could alsoboost Myanmars economy. It is a plausible claim: every dollar the US has spentin space has delivered, according to estimates, anything from US$7-40 ineconomic returns.

However, it all depends on COVID-19if borders do notreopen then the scientists will not be able to travel to Japan andthey will likely miss the initial launch date, scheduled for 2021.

Despite their size and weight, these microsatellites possessadvanced imaging technology. They can send back detailed pictures of widetracts of land regularly, allowing those interpreting the data to trackchanges.

For example, they can show farmers what is happening in fieldsthat may be hard to reach, leading to fewer wasted trips to check on crops. Thesame Japanese universities collaborating with Myanmar helped the Philippineslaunch a satellite in 2016 that proved instrumental in detectingdisease in bananas.

The instruments could alert authorities to changes in areasthat would otherwise go unnoticed, perhaps enabling them to move in and preventillegal practices such as logging or mining before too much damage is done tothe local environment.

Primarily, however, the satellites will monitorweather systems such as typhoons and detect seismic activity.Early detection of severe weather patterns will enable authorities to movepeople and livestock away from danger, saving lives and money. In the aftermathof disasters, the satellites will show scientists how quickly areas arerecovering.

It is not just a matter of launching a satellite and takingan image, but our goal is to bring truly practical outcomes by analysing thedata acquired through the latest technology and observation methods, explainedProfessor Yukihiro Takahashi, director of Hokkaido Universitys Space MissionCenter.

These ties with established space programmes are crucial for initiativesin places like Myanmar. Like many countries, it lacks the resources andtechnology to design and launch satellites itself, meaning it must work withothers.

To this end, it has joined a nine-strong super-constellation ofAsian nations, also including Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, to launchand monitor microsatellites. Malaysia and Thailand will also eventually come onboard.

Furthermore, Myanmar is part of an Asian micro-satelliteconsortium founded in 2016 which committed to sharing technology andobservational data. In this way, ASEAN nations can move forward with spaceprogrammes that would otherwise be out of reach. The more satellites there aresending back pictures of the region, the better, particularly if all membershave access to the data.

Indonesia has the most advanced space programme within ASEAN,being the first in the region to send geosynchronous satellites into space whenNASA launched them in 1976.Vietnams Pham Tun becamethe first Southeast Asian to go into space in 1980.

However, China, India and Japan have dominated the history ofAsian space exploration. Like NASA, all three have launched missions to both Marsand the moon, with more planned, leading to some predictions thatAsia might win the next space race.

ASEANs role in more advanced space exploration attempts willbe limited. While an astronaut from the region may one day return to space oreven set foot on another planet, it would be as part of another countrysprogramme. For now, Southeast Asias space race has smaller but no lessimportant goals: ensuring natural resources are not wasted and averting potentialdisasters here on earth.

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