U.S. ENERGY OFFICIAL TERMS KAZAKSTAN MISSION A SUCCESS
COPENHAGEN, Denmark--Officials of Earth Search Sciences Inc. (OTC: EDIS)
today announced the successful completion of the first mission of the company's
new hyperspectral imaging system, Probe 1.
Earth Search officials participating in the Third International
Airborne Remote Sensing Conference and Exhibition in Copenhagen, received
confirmation of the remote sensing mission's success in collecting data on
mineral and environmental targets in a letter from the senior U.S. Department of
Energy official assigned to the project. W. Randy Bell, project manager of the
mission to the remote Asian country, sent a letter to Earth Search Sciences
chairman Larry Vance calling the "incredible technical, political and logistical
challenge" a success.
Earth Search contracted with Sydney, Australia-based Integrated Spectronics
Pty. Ltd. to design and manufacture Probe 1. Earth Search Sciences, together
with strategic partners Applied Signal and Image Technology and California
Microwave Inc., is scheduling new missions for Probe 1.
The United States' Kazakstan mission employed a "suite" of sensors,
including Earth Search Sciences' breakthrough Probe 1 instrument and processing
software. Earth Search Sciences, in exchange for deploying its Probe 1 for the
mission, developed a consortium with the Kazakstan government that holds
licenses and shares in the mineral concessions of a vast region of the Asian
country.
In his letter to Vance from Almaty, Kazakstan, Bell wrote of three
particular successes by Earth Search Sciences in deploying its new Probe 1
hyperspectral-imaging sensor in Kazakstan:
-- "From an engineering and scientific perspective, I have been quite
impressed with the way you have brought together innovative
hardware developers to build a leading-edge sensor and integrated
the output data from this system into a new custom software
package that implements advanced automated orthogonal subspace
projection analysis techniques that have only just been discussed
at the latest mathematical remote sensing symposiums.
-- "From a practical, real life project management perspective, I
have to compliment you on your ability to accelerate the whole
development schedule to meet the political pressures unique to
Kazakstan, support the regulations and Quality Assurance processes
involved in integrating your system into a U.S. military aircraft
and logistically supporting the maiden deployment of your system
in what seemed to be the farthest corner of the world.
-- "And, from a strategic vision perspective, I applaud your insight
into the remote sensing and industrial development opportunity
presented by the coincidence of untapped mineral wealth in the
Semipalatinsk nuclear test site region, and the expanding
relations between the United States Department of Energy and the
Republic of Kazakstan Ministry of Sciences on nuclear matters.
I'm also thankful that you had the persistence to see the vision
through when it appeared like there were more setbacks than
progress."
Brian Savage, president of Earth Search, said: "We are gratified that
the Probe 1 has delivered everything we believed it would on this mission. The
proof is in the pudding--or in this case in the precise image Probe 1 and our
breakthrough processing software delivered, showing mineral indications and
environmental challenges unique to Kazakstan."
Earth Search's newly developed Probe 1 instrument identifies mineral
"signatures" or other constituents from an airplane-mounted platform. The
instrument has extensive mineral exploration and environmental applications.
Savage said Earth Search Sciences believes Kazakstan has the potential
to be one of the world's great mineral producers.
The Department of Energy sponsored the peacetime mission to the former
Soviet state to help scientists there by providing data and training in "imagery
analysis" of economic and environmental targets. At the same time, the work
delivered a dividend of information about mineral deposits in an extensive tract
of the country.
In his letter about the project, Bell said, "My intent in writing this
letter is simply to acknowledge the superior, innovative, and dedicated work I
have witnessed in the past eight months of close interaction that I have had
with your people as we prepared and executed this difficult, but rewarding,
mission." |
