Internet resources: Roskosmos geo-portal goes online

On December 21 2010 was officially launched the geo-portal of Roskosmos (Russian Federal Space Agency), which is analogous to Google Maps resource. At geoportal.ntsomz.ru you can freely view and download satellite photos of the Earth.

The geo-portal was developed by the “Russian Space Systems” jointly with the research institute of precision instruments. The website offers access to photos of the Earth surface, taken mainly by Russian satellites, including apparatus launched in the Soviet time. The website will be updated daily – there will be uploaded photos taken by the “Resurs-DK” and “Monitor-E” satellites. What is more, some of images available on the geo-portal bear a note, showing that they were taken by Scientific Data Purchase Project of the American Space Agency.

Geo-portal visitors will have an opportunity to freely view the low resolution shots. However photographs of better quality will be accessible for fees.