Brazil wants to start building a new Earth Resources Satellite Program (CBERS) satellite with China within six months, according to Brazilian minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Luciana Santos.
“Our hope is to start building CBERS-6 in the coming months. This is essential to strengthen our Amazon monitoring agencies and carry out climate studies,” Santos told Sputnik News.
The goal, said the minister, is for Brazil to return to its role as a “protagonist” after the “dismantling” that took place during the previous administration.
China, Brazil to boost ties in agro trade, science and digital economy
CBERS is a technological cooperation program between China and Brazil for the production of a series of Earth observation satellites, signed on July 6, 1988 with the launch of the CBERS-1 satellite in 1999. The partnership has already produced four satellites, the last one being launched in 2019, and a fifth is under construction.
“We are placing the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation as the protagonist of public science policies of the federal government, recovering its role as an inducer of scientific and technological development in the country”, the minister added.
“When we arrived at the ministry, we saw the dismantling of policies and the complete isolation of the actors that make up the National System of Science, Technology and Innovation”, declared Santos.
