Here, I will give you some information about the project:

SAREPTA, the Internet School Forum on "Satellites and Environment"

This pilot project is a part of the programme "Satellite data in schools", run by the Norwegian Space Centre (NSC). The overall goal is to encourage the use of satellite information at different levels and in various connections in upper primary and lower secondary schools.

Norwegian Space Centre, which coordinates space activities in Norway and represents Norway in ESA, is running an education development programme of which SAREPTA is a part. SAREPTA, in the development phase, is funded mainly by the Norwegian Space Centre and Tromsø Satellite Station and with financial support by ESA Headquarters and the Norwegian Ministry of Education.

Description of SAREPTA

SAREPTA, the Internet School Forum on «Satellites and Environment» is built mainly upon a satellite image bank for schools, located at the Tromsø Satellite Station in Northern Norway. The image bank is reachable at the web-site: http://www.spacecentre.no (click on the «Education»-frame and follow instructions). The image bank permits schools access to daily high and low resolution NOAA AVHRR images as well as ad hoc images like SAR images from oil spills. Today the images are used by about 20 pilot schools in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The images being a part of a printed package including image processing software and with fact information, proposals for pupils tasks on topics like: climate and weather, storms, floods, vegetation, pollution (oil spill).

The image bank is now being expanded so that by june -97 all schools within the coverage area of Tromsø Satellite Station (from Norway to Italy) will have access to high resolution images covering their area. By June -97 we will also put the fact information, tasks and comments, image processing software on the web site.

It is highly needed to expand SAREPTA both in topics and type of satellite images. This could be done as an European cooperation project.

As a part of the Norwegian Space Centre´s strategy, NSC will support financially SAREPTA during the development phase, maximum 3 years. When SAREPTA is fully developed, NSC intend to charge the users, the schools, an annual fee to cover running expenses at the Tromsø Satellite Station.

Are you commen using satellite images in education?

I`m glad if you have some questions about this project. Please use the discussion group for questions or comments.

Regards,

Birgit Strømsholm
Email: Birgit.Stromsholm@pr.uninett.no

(I work as an external consultant for NSC with their educational projects)