Brazil’s Senate last week approved a legal measure to enable China and Brazil to develop a satellite, Agência Senado reported.

The CBERS-4A satellite would be pursued under the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) programme. The initiative provides satellite images to monitor issues including deforestation and natural disasters, and also tracks the expansion of agriculture and urban areas, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research. The latter is under the nation’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The CBERS programme is aimed at helping developing countries to benefit from satellite images, the agency’s report said. It added the new satellite should be launched in 2018. 

China and Brazil have jointly sent five CBERS satellites into orbit – four successfully – since 1999. It followed a co-operation agreement signed by the two nations in 1988, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua has reported previously.