What is special about Artemis
New and better mobile communications and navigation
Artemis is no ordinary telecommunications satellite. It incorporates new, advanced technologies that not only expand and improve all areas of navigation, mobile communication and satellite to satellite communications but will open up new markets and innovative services to people all over the world.
Multimedia projects, distance learning schemes for children in isolated areas, rescue communications systems and emergency 'telemedicine' projects are already using satellites to improve the daily lives of people on a global basis and Artemis is set to improve these and expand these kind of services.
A new environmental messenger
In addition to the new capacity and facilities for mobile communications and navigation, Artemis has another important role to play. The satellite's data relay systems, which include a sophisticated SILEX (Semi-conductor laser Inter-satellite Link EXperiment) laser and SKDR payloads, allows Earth observation data from other satellites such as France's Spot 4 and ESA's Envisat, to be transmitted much faster via Artemis directly to the relevant Earth-based ground stations.
This has far reaching implications for Earth monitoring, particularly in times of crisis such as natural disasters like flooding or earthquakes when time is of the essence to avoid greater catastrophe or risk to human life.
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