Photo: www.xerra.nz
Space-age efforts are underway to keep pests and diseases, including Covid, out of New Zealand.
MPI's recent Ko tātou Biosecurity Supreme Award Winner is Central Otago-based Xerra Earth Observation Institute.
Xerra is tracking pests and viruses hitch-hiking on vessels here, observing them from up in space, helping the Ministry for Primary Industries perform risk assessments using satellite data.
Xerra's Starboard Maritime Intelligence software gives a top of atmosphere view of Earth, providing complicated real-time analysis of ships' passages to front line biosecurity analysts at MPI.
Senior Scientist at Xerra, Moritz Lehmann speaks with Kathryn.
