ANKARA

Australia on Wednesday formally joined the US-led Landsat Next satellite program to support mining exploration.

In a joint statement with Minister for Resources Madeleine King, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the establishment of the Australia-United States Landsat Next Partnership will build on their near half-century of cooperation in Earth observation.

“The satellite data delivered through this partnership will not only be of benefit to our two countries, but its critical insights will help the Indo-Pacific to optimize food security and agricultural production, improve urban infrastructure planning, and prepare for disasters,” she said.

A bilateral statement at the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations was signed by Wong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday.

The formal signing is a key milestone for Australia's involvement in the pioneering project, which will map the Earth's surface and support mining exploration, environmental monitoring, agriculture and disaster management, said the statement.

The Landsat Next program, to be launched in 2031, will continue nearly 50 years of Earth observation collaboration between Geoscience Australia and the United States Geological Survey.

Under the Landsat Next agreement, Australia will commit $207.4 million over the next four years for Geoscience Australia to develop advanced data processing and analytics capabilities.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid