Geoscience

A brief history of the Apollo Guidance Computer

A brief history of the Apollo Guidance Computer

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The Apollo Guidance Computer (“AGC”) was used onboard the Apollo spacecraft to support the Apollo moon landings between 1969 and 1972. A very interesting talk during the 34th Chaos Communication Congress (34C3) sheds some light on this interesting peace of hardware, including its clever hardware design, its revolutionary OS, and how its software allowed humans to reach and explore the moon.

Mapping the ISS – A Google StreetView Project

Mapping the ISS – A Google StreetView Project

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This week Google released its latest remarkable Google Street View Project. Thanks to ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet who has been on-board the International Space Station (ISS) from 17th of November 2016 until 2nd of June 2017 , Google captured Street View imagery and thereby mapped the whole space station with all its 15 modules in 360 degree.

“Horizons” the next Gerst mission

“Horizons” the next Gerst mission

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‘Horizons’ is the name of German ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst’s next mission. 41-year-old German geophysicist, Alexander Gerst is scheduled to embark on his second research trip to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of expedition 56/57 in late April 2018.. After the Belgian ESA astronaut, Frank de Winne, Gerst will be the second European to be commander of the ISS. Gerst will remain in orbit, at an altitude of around 380 kilometres, for six months – until the end of October 2018. The name ‘Horizons’ symbolises the curiosity and fascination of exploring and researching the unknown.

Planet Earth at 4K

Planet Earth at 4K

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Thanks to the german astronaut Alexander Gerst and his numerous photos taken during his six month journey in space on board of the International Space Station (ISS), ESA released this marvelous time lapse video showing stunning images from our blue planet. During his 166 days on board, he managed to take about 12500 shots in constant intervals, showing snapshots of auroras, sunrises & sunsets, cloud formations, stars, oceans, our Milky Way, lightnings and last but not least our thin and fragile atmosphere.

Proposal for a future web application or extension of Google Maps

Proposal for a future web application or extension of Google Maps

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With over 20000 fatalities and numerous human catastrophes all around the globe over the past year, there is a high demand for a continuous and near-real-time warning system for casualties of natural disasters. With the establishment of the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ in 1999, all important space agencies agreed on sharing their satellite resources to provide a 24/7 monitoring of natural disasters all over the globe.

Cloud Statistics from Calipso Lidar Data for the Performance Assessment of a Methane Space Lidar

Cloud Statistics from Calipso Lidar Data for the Performance Assessment of a Methane Space Lidar

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In this thesis a performance assessment for the future German-French climate monitoring initiative, Methane Remote Sensing Lidar Mission (MERLIN), proposed by DLR and CNES in 2010 was undertaken. A general space lidar performance issue is the obstruction by optically dense clouds. For this purpose cloud free statistics, the global cloud top flatness and global cloud top distributions were derived from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) level 2, 333 m and 5 km lidar cloud-layer products between 01 January 2007 and 01 January 2008.

Bam, Iran – Earthquake detection with the ASAR instrument of ENVISAT

Bam, Iran – Earthquake detection with the ASAR instrument of ENVISAT

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The 2003 Bam, Iran earthquake was a major earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.6, that caused a huge number of casualties as well as major destructions in Bam and the surrounding Kerman province. Due to continous observation from space it is possible to determine the geophysical processes involved not only by classical seismographs but also by Radar interferometry.

NASA’s Curiosity Touchdown

NASA’s Curiosity Touchdown

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Finally after 9 month of flighttime, NASA’s mobile laboraty made it to Mars. Carrying the most advanced payload of scientific gear ever used on Mars‘ surface, the Mars rover is ready to investigate whether conditions have been favorable for microbial life and for preserving clues in the rocks about possible past life. The Curiosity Mission is the follow on mission of NASA’s past Mars Mission with twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity launched in 2003.

Sea Level Analysis using ENVISAT

Sea Level Analysis using ENVISAT

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In this project the goal is to retrieve reliable information about the sea level change from 2004 to 2008 using ENVISAT data. Furthermore the main concepts for a software development and implementation shall be simulated. For this purpose a program has to be developed that is capable of converting the ENVISAT raw data into a matlab readable format, applying all necessary corrections given by the data itself and interpolate the data to retrieve an assumption for the past sea level change from 2004 to 2008.

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Owner and Data Controller
Nico Trebbin Owner contact email: support@nicomedia.de

Types of Data collected

Among the types of Personal Data that this Application collects, by itself or through third parties, there are: first name, last name, email address, Usage Data, username, website and Cookies. Complete details on each type of Personal Data collected are provided in the dedicated sections of this privacy policy or by specific explanation texts displayed prior to the Data collection. Personal Data may be freely provided by the User, or, in case of Usage Data, collected automatically when using this Application. Unless specified otherwise, all Data requested by this Application is mandatory and failure to provide this Data may make it impossible for this Application to provide its services. In cases where this Application specifically states that some Data is not mandatory, Users are free not to communicate this Data without consequences to the availability or the functioning of the Service. Users who are uncertain about which Personal Data is mandatory are welcome to contact the Owner. Any use of Cookies – or of other tracking tools – by this Application or by the owners of third-party services used by this Application serves the purpose of providing the Service required by the User, in addition to any other purposes described in the present document and in the Cookie Policy, if available. Users are responsible for any third-party Personal Data obtained, published or shared through this Application and confirm that they have the third party’s consent to provide the Data to the Owner.

Mode and place of processing the Data

Methods of processing

The Owner takes appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, or unauthorized destruction of the Data. The Data processing is carried out using computers and/or IT enabled tools, following organizational procedures and modes strictly related to the purposes indicated. In addition to the Owner, in some cases, the Data may be accessible to certain types of persons in charge, involved with the operation of this Application (administration, sales, marketing, legal, system administration) or external parties (such as third-party technical service providers, mail carriers, hosting providers, IT companies, communications agencies) appointed, if necessary, as Data Processors by the Owner. The updated list of these parties may be requested from the Owner at any time.

Legal basis of processing

The Owner may process Personal Data relating to Users if one of the following applies:
  • Users have given their consent for one or more specific purposes.
  • Note: Under some legislations the Owner may be allowed to process Personal Data until the User objects to such processing (“opt-out”), without having to rely on consent or any other of the following legal bases. This, however, does not apply, whenever the processing of Personal Data is subject to European data protection law;
  • provision of Data is necessary for the performance of an agreement with the User and/or for any pre-contractual obligations thereof;
  • processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Owner is subject;
  • processing is related to a task that is carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Owner;
  • processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner or by a third party;
In any case, the Owner will gladly help to clarify the specific legal basis that applies to the processing, and in particular whether the provision of Personal Data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract.

Place

The Data is processed at the Owner’s operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. Depending on the User’s location, data transfers may involve transferring the User’s Data to a country other than their own. To find out more about the place of processing of such transferred Data, Users can check the section containing details about the processing of Personal Data. Users are also entitled to learn about the legal basis of Data transfers to a country outside the European Union or to any international organization governed by public international law or set up by two or more countries, such as the UN, and about the security measures taken by the Owner to safeguard their Data. If any such transfer takes place, Users can find out more by checking the relevant sections of this document or inquire with the Owner using the information provided in the contact section.

Retention time

Personal Data shall be processed and stored for as long as required by the purpose they have been collected for. Therefore:
  • Personal Data collected for purposes related to the performance of a contract between the Owner and the User shall be retained until such contract has been fully performed.
  • Personal Data collected for the purposes of the Owner’s legitimate interests shall be retained as long as needed to fulfill such purposes. Users may find specific information regarding the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner within the relevant sections of this document or by contacting the Owner.
The Owner may be allowed to retain Personal Data for a longer period whenever the User has given consent to such processing, as long as such consent is not withdrawn. Furthermore, the Owner may be obliged to retain Personal Data for a longer period whenever required to do so for the performance of a legal obligation or upon order of an authority. Once the retention period expires, Personal Data shall be deleted. Therefore, the right to access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification and the right to data portability cannot be enforced after expiration of the retention period.

The purposes of processing

The Data concerning the User is collected to allow the Owner to provide its Services, as well as for the following purposes: SPAM protection, Content commenting, Analytics and Interaction with external social networks and platforms. Users can find further detailed information about such purposes of processing and about the specific Personal Data used for each purpose in the respective sections of this document.

Detailed information on the processing of Personal Data

Personal Data is collected for the following purposes and using the following services:
Google Analytics (Google Inc.)
Comment system managed directly by WordPress
Interaction with external social networks and platforms
Akismet is a SPAM protection service provided by Automattic Inc.

The rights of Users

Users may exercise certain rights regarding their Data processed by the Owner. In particular, Users have the right to do the following:
  • Withdraw their consent at any time. Users have the right to withdraw consent where they have previously given their consent to the processing of their Personal Data.
  • Object to processing of their Data. Users have the right to object to the processing of their Data if the processing is carried out on a legal basis other than consent. Further details are provided in the dedicated section below.
  • Access their Data. Users have the right to learn if Data is being processed by the Owner, obtain disclosure regarding certain aspects of the processing and obtain a copy of the Data undergoing processing.
  • Verify and seek rectification. Users have the right to verify the accuracy of their Data and ask for it to be updated or corrected.
  • Restrict the processing of their Data. Users have the right, under certain circumstances, to restrict the processing of their Data. In this case, the Owner will not process their Data for any purpose other than storing it.
  • Have their Personal Data deleted or otherwise removed. Users have the right, under certain circumstances, to obtain the erasure of their Data from the Owner.
  • Receive their Data and have it transferred to another controller. Users have the right to receive their Data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and, if technically feasible, to have it transmitted to another controller without any hindrance. This provision is applicable provided that the Data is processed by automated means and that the processing is based on the User’s consent, on a contract which the User is part of or on pre-contractual obligations thereof.
  • Lodge a complaint. Users have the right to bring a claim before their competent data protection authority.

Details about the right to object to processing

Where Personal Data is processed for a public interest, in the exercise of an official authority vested in the Owner or for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Owner, Users may object to such processing by providing a ground related to their particular situation to justify the objection. Users must know that, however, should their Personal Data be processed for direct marketing purposes, they can object to that processing at any time without providing any justification. To learn, whether the Owner is processing Personal Data for direct marketing purposes, Users may refer to the relevant sections of this document.

How to exercise these rights

Any requests to exercise User rights can be directed to the Owner through the contact details provided in this document. These requests can be exercised free of charge and will be addressed by the Owner as early as possible and always within one month.
Additional information about Data collection and processing

Legal action

The User’s Personal Data may be used for legal purposes by the Owner in Court or in the stages leading to possible legal action arising from improper use of this Application or the related Services. The User declares to be aware that the Owner may be required to reveal personal data upon request of public authorities.

Additional information about User’s Personal Data

In addition to the information contained in this privacy policy, this Application may provide the User with additional and contextual information concerning particular Services or the collection and processing of Personal Data upon request. System logs and maintenance For operation and maintenance purposes, this Application and any third-party services may collect files that record interaction with this Application (System logs) use other Personal Data (such as the IP Address) for this purpose.

Information not contained in this policy

More details concerning the collection or processing of Personal Data may be requested from the Owner at any time. Please see the contact information at the beginning of this document.

How “Do Not Track” requests are handled

This Application does not support “Do Not Track” requests. To determine whether any of the third-party services it uses honor the “Do Not Track” requests, please read their privacy policies.

Changes to this privacy policy

The Owner reserves the right to make changes to this privacy policy at any time by giving notice to its Users on this page and possibly within this Application and/or – as far as technically and legally feasible – sending a notice to Users via any contact information available to the Owner. It is strongly recommended to check this page often, referring to the date of the last modification listed at the bottom.
Definitions and legal references

Legal information

This privacy statement has been prepared based on provisions of multiple legislations, including Art. 13/14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation). This privacy policy relates solely to this Application, if not stated otherwise within this document. Latest update: June 28, 2018