Blog

Maxar Technologies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with New Zealand’s Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment (MBIE) to work together to explore opportunities for collaboration across a range of space and technology domains.

Maxar CEO Dan Jablonsky and MBIE Chief Executive Carolyn Tremain met virtually on Feb. 22 to sign the agreement. The MOU outlines areas of potential collaboration that include next-generation Earth observation satellites and ground station; maritime domain awareness services; advanced analytics of Earth observation data; and space-focused, science-technology-engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs. To initiate these efforts, Maxar and New Zealand have identified an initial set of projects to jointly pursue.

First, Maxar is partnering with the New Zealand Space Agency to organize the New Zealand Spatial Hackathon that will take place over the weekend of April 17-18, 2021. Maxar will grant New Zealand university students access to portions of its vast imagery archive of high-resolution Earth observation data, which includes full coverage over New Zealand dating back almost 20 years. Access to this data will enable the students to learn from and analyze economic, health and environmental challenges by applying leading-edge analytics, change detection and other creative solutions to develop actionable information. Second, the parties will explore partnership and supply chain opportunities for New Zealand commercial firms to complement Maxar's work with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Third, Maxar and New Zealand will identify and promote STEM-related internship opportunities in Maxar organizations for New Zealand university students with the goals of expanding expertise and experience base for New Zealand space industry and meeting Maxar joint workforce development objectives.

“Maxar is thrilled to embark on this partnership with New Zealand, one of the United States’ most trusted allies,” said Dan Jablonsky, Maxar CEO. “Collaborations such as this have vast potential to foster long-term partnerships, accelerate technology development and cultivate the workforce of tomorrow.”

“Maxar Technologies is a trusted partner and has a history of providing timely, high-resolution satellite imagery to the New Zealand government, and establishing an MOU is an important step in enabling collaboration between our organizations,” said Peter Crabtree, MBIE General Manager of Science, Innovation and International, and Head of the New Zealand Space Agency. “We’re looking forward to hosting the first of several projects with Maxar and exploring new opportunities for collaboration that will benefit New Zealanders.”

Prev Post Back to Blog Next Post