Vital signs

摘要

Last week, an urgent alarm was activated at the International Charter for Space and Major Disasters. A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake had hit Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island, leaving 200 people missing and 98 dead as The Engineer went to press. The charter, set up to provide emergency access to information from space, instantly triggered all available satellites to zoom in on the shattered city What came back was detailed imagery of the area showing collapsed buildings and damaged infrastructure. Over the next few weeks, the satellites will continue to provide updated images to emergency teams on the ground. When compared with past maps of the affected area, these images could provide vital information on where to focus relief efforts.