639 



toward the establishment of a global weather system for the benefit of other 

 nations." The first major activity in this area was the installation of the "cold 

 line" between Moscow and Washington for the exchange of meteorological data. 

 For many months only conventional data flowed across the line. However, in 

 August 1966 the Russians began to exchange satellite cloud pictures and infrared 

 data over the coldline from information provided by Cosmos 122. This exchange 

 terminated after a few months presumably due to failure of Cosmos 122, and was 

 resumed in March 1967, immediately after the launching of Cosmos 144 : This two 

 way exchange is still in progress.^ 



The cooperative international program known as "World Weather 

 Watch," under the aegis of the World Meteorological Organization 

 (WMO) also relies extensively on satellites. It envisions a cooperative 

 effort among the nations of the world to develop a global system for 

 complete surveillance of the atmosphere and for the rapid dissemina- 

 tion of weather information on a world wide basis. To support the 

 program of TVTVIO, President Johnson, by letter of October 23, 1964, 

 instructed Secretary Luther Hodges of the Department of Commerce, 

 to "take such action as you may deem necessary to bring the interested 

 Federal departments and agencies into closer consultation and coor- 

 dination with regard to international activities in meteorology and the 

 formulation of U.S. international meteorological policies and pro- 

 grams to insure that the United States will continue to make a signifi- 

 cant contribution, . ." ^* 



EARTH RESOURCES SATELLITE SURVEYS 



Of possibly great significance is the use of satellites for surveys of 

 global resources of agricultural and mineral wealth, and for the 

 management of these resources. On this subject, a NASA report has 

 spelled out the advantages of gathering information about Earth 

 resources. 



Accurate, timely, and broad-scale surveys of agricultural and forestry resources 

 on a periodic basis by Earth-orbital remote sensing will become increasingly im- 

 portant in future years. These techniques combined with automatic pattern 

 recognition methods will yield information necessary to allow improved produc- 

 tivity, development, and utilization of agricultural resources on a worldwide 

 basis.^ 



These, said the report, should yield information useful with respect 

 to soil classification, land use capability and changes, natural vegeta- 

 tion, range surveys, crop identification, crop disease and insect inva- 

 sion detection, flood control survey, watershed and hydrologic studies, 

 recreation site evaluation, wildlife habitat studies, forest species iden- 

 tification, forest fire detection, forest disease and insect invasion detec- 

 tion, soil conservation programs, irrigation development, agricultural 

 development projects, and crop acreage control programs. 



With respect to geology and mineral resources, the report suggested 

 a number of possible applications of satellite data, such as : geologic 

 mapping, mineral resource investigations, thermal activitj^ in connec- 

 tion with volcanic eruptions, observations of magnetic and gravity 



^ U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Space Applications Programs 

 Office, Office of Space Science and Applications. Office of Technology Utilization. "A Survey 

 of Space Applications . . . for the benefit of all mankind." (Washington, U.S. Government 

 Printing Office, April 1967), pages 90-91. (NASA SP-142.) 



s* Department of State Bulletin (November 30, 1964), pages 792-4. 



^ National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "A Survey of Space Applications '. . . 

 for the benefit of all'mankind.' " Op. cit, page 5. 



