A memorandum of understanding for the project was signed in Oman's capital Muscat on Wednesday.
In addition to the Sultanate of Oman and SatRevolution, which manufactures and operates satellites, the signatories included Poland-based AI data-analytics experts TUATARA and US-based space company Virgin Orbit, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
As part of the mission, the consortium plans to launch a SatRevolution satellite onboard a Virgin Orbit rocket from Britain's Spaceport Cornwall later this year.
The satellite will help conduct cutting-edge research and capture high-resolution imagery of deep space, according to a statement by Virgin Orbit.
SatRevolution’s CEO Grzegorz Zwoliński was quoted as saying that his company was “honoured and delighted to have been chosen by the Sultanate of Oman to deliver our nanosatellite technologies, both for the Low Earth Orbit and deep space missions.”
Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, said that, despite technological progress, “only a few nations have been bold enough to venture into deep space” so far.
All collected data and images will be analysed digitally using computer vision, machine learning and AI solutions, the PAP news agency reported.
The mission is expected to collect valuable data about hidden patterns in climate change and the aftereffects of natural disasters, among other aims.
The mission is a follow-on to an agreement signed by the parties during the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai in October.
Earlier this month, small satellites manufactured by SatRevolution were successfully launched into space as part of Virgin Orbit’s innovative space programme, PAP reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP