The Institute for Space Applications and Remote Sensing ( ISARS/ NOA) ( el, Ινστιτούτο Διαστημικών Εφαρμογών και Τηλεπισκόπησης) was a research institute in Greece with expertise in multidisciplinary

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...

and

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

sciences. It was an independent research Institute of the

National Observatory of Athens The National Observatory of Athens (NOA; el, Εθνικό Αστεροσκοπείο Αθηνών) is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest research foundation in Greece, as it was the first scientific rese ...

( NOA) until 2012 when it was merged with the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics to a single unit entitled Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing (IAASARS). Member scientists of all its research groups have broad knowledge of Space Science and

Earth observation Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote-sensing technologies (Earth observation satellites) or through direct-contact sensors ...

techniques and their applications. They collaborate with other research groups in Europe and United States, and have been internationally recognized through editorship in scientific journals, invited talks at international conferences, invited review papers in top journals, high rate of citations and coordination of EU-funded research projects.

History

ISARS was founded in 1955, under the name Ionospheric Institute. In 1990, the institute was renamed to Institute of Ionospheric and Space Research and in 1999 took its current title in order to reflect its expanded activities, which cover a variety of aspects of space research and applications. The location of the Institute until July 1995 was the historic site of the Hill of Nymphs near the

Acropolis of Athens The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...

and the Theseion. The significant increase of staff members and R&D projects made it necessary for the institute to move to new modern facilities at the NOA campus north of Athens, on Mount Penteli. In 2012 it was merged with the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics to a single unit entitled Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing (IAASARS), which is supervised and supported by the General Secretariat of Research and Technology of the Greek

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Facilities

Hellenic GeoMagnetic Array

The National Observatory of Athens operates ENIGMA (Hellenic GeoMagnetic Array), a ground-based magnetometer array in the area of south-eastern Europe (central and southern Greece) for space weather applications. The four existing stations are latitudinally equi-spaced between 30° and 33° corrected geomagnetic latitude and cover the areas of

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

Central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...

and the Peloponnese. Each station is equipped with a state-of-the-art vector

fluxgate magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...

. In the near future another station will be installed in Macedonia or

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, and there are plans for the installation of an additional station in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

by mid-2010. One of the primary research objectives assigned to ENIGMA is the study of geomagnetic field line resonances (FLRs).

Ionospheric Station

A fully automated ionospheric station operates at Penteli site since September 2000. Users can access real-time

ionogram An ionosonde, or chirpsounder, is a special radar for the examination of the ionosphere. The basic ionosonde technology was invented in 1925 by Gregory Breit and Merle A. Tuve and further developed in the late 1920s by a number of prominent phys ...

s with the results of the automatic scaling, preview some recent ionograms and download daily SAO files using the SAO Data Base. For more information visit the Ionospheric Station Page.

Satellite Receiving Stations

NOAA/AVHRR Image Acquisition Station

The National Observatory of Athens operates an

AVHRR The Advanced Very-High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument is a space-borne sensor that measures the reflectance of the Earth in five spectral bands that are relatively wide by today's standards. AVHRR instruments are or have been carried b ...

image acquisition station manufactured by Telonics Inc. The receiving antenna is installed at ISARS ('Lofos Koufou'). Satellite data from NOAA 12, 14, 15 and 16 are acquired on a daily basis. Images are archived (since 1998), pre-processed (radiometric calibration, navigation, enhancement) and value added products are produced according to user requirements.

SEAWIFS Image Acquisition Station

ISARS has become in 2002 an authorized SeaWiFS data user and an authorized direct readout ground station. HRPT data are captured on a daily basis with frequency of 1 image per day. Archived data can be provided to users on demand.

METEOSAT Receiving Station

The Meteosat receiving station installed at ISARS is a Dartcom PDUS system. Data in the visible and near-infrared as well as water vapour data from the Geo-stationary satellite

Meteosat The Meteosat series of satellites are geostationary meteorological satellites operated by EUMETSAT under the Meteosat Transition Programme (MTP) and the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) program. The MTP program was established to ensure the ope ...

are captured on a daily basis with a frequency of 2 images per hour. The images are stored for several days but are not archived on a regular basis.

References

External links

www.space.noa.gr

www.noa.gr
{{authority control Research institutes in Greece Buildings and structures in Athens 1955 establishments in Greece 2012 disestablishments in Greece Space agencies Independent government agencies of Greece