Saba Javed

The National University of Science and Technology (NUST) received the most modern Pandora instrument and access to the GEMS satellite from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) for real-time air quality data monitoring, WealthPK reports. The NUST not only received NASA’s latest satellite but also became part of the most modern geostationary orbit-based satellite observations (Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer) of air quality.

It became the first institute in the entire region to receive the equipment to record, collate and calibrate real-time air quality data. Dr Muhammad Fahim Khokhar, the head of the department of environmental sciences at NUST, told media that air quality has become a global issue with its impact on the society, economy, industry, diplomacy, public health and natural resources in addition to environmental sciences. “Asia with its rapid increase in industrialisation and population is regarded as an important source region of global scale emission.

It is crucial to monitor the concentration of relevant gases and aerosols over Asia in high temporal and spatial resolution from geostationary orbit satellite,” he said. Dr Fahim said that there was no such facility available in the country to have 24/7 satellite-based data for air pollution. The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (IESE) of NUST has emerged as a globally trusted institution for high-level research projects.

The Pandonia Global Network (PGN)’s Pandora is the outcome of a programmatic shift by the NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) towards establishing fixed locations focused on providing long-term quality observations of the total column and vertically resolved concentrations of a range of trace gases. A major joint objective is to support the validation and verification of more than a dozen low-earth orbit and geostationary orbit-based UV-visible sensors. Dr Fahim said that the prestigious global space agency NASA trusted NUST with the responsibility to become the focal point in the region for its geostationary satellite and being part of the PGN.

The NUST low-cost quality sensors have been deployed across the country including Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The Pandora equipment received from NASA comprises a field box, spectrometer and sensor head and its cost is around $55,000. Dr Fahim said that the latest gadget is a very critical tool for the students of BS, MS, MPhil, and PhD students as it would provide them with an opportunity to get hands-on experience and interact with global experts.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk