XIPE, the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer, is a mission dedicated to X-ray Astronomy. At the time of writing XIPE is in a competitive phase A as fourth medium size mission of ESA (M4). It promises to reopen the polarimetry window in high energy Astrophysics after more than 4 decades thanks to a detector that efficiently exploits the photoelectric effect and to X-ray optics with large effective area. XIPE uniqueness is time-spectrallyspatially-resolved X-ray polarimetry as a breakthrough in high energy astrophysics and fundamental physics. Indeed the payload consists of three Gas Pixel Detectors at the focus of three X-ray optics with a total effective area larger than one XMM mirror but with a low weight. The payload is compatible with the fairing of the Vega launcher. XIPE is designed as an observatory for X-ray astronomers with 75 % of the time dedicated to a Guest Observer competitive program and it is organized as a consortium across Europe with main contributions from

Context. Realistic synthetic observations of theoretical source models are essential for our understanding of real observational data. In using synthetic data, one can verify the extent to which source parameters can be recovered and evaluate how various data corruption effects can be calibrated. These studies are the most important when proposing observations of new sources, in the characterization of the capabilities of new or upgraded instruments, and when verifying model-based theoretical predictions in a direct comparison with observational data. Aims. We present the SYnthetic Measurement creator for long Baseline Arrays (SYMBA), a novel synthetic data generation pipeline for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations. SYMBA takes into account several realistic atmospheric, instrumental, and calibration effects. Methods. We used SYMBA to create synthetic observations for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a millimetre VLBI array, which has recently captured the first image of a black hole shadow. After testing SYMBA with simple source and corruption models, we study the importance of including all corruption and calibration effects, compared to the addition of thermal noise only. Using synthetic data based on two example general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) model images of M 87, we performed case studies to assess the image quality that can be obtained with the current and future EHT array for different weather conditions. Results. Our synthetic observations show that the effects of atmospheric and instrumental corruptions on the measured visibilities are significant. Despite these effects, we demonstrate how the overall structure of our GRMHD source models can be recovered robustly with the EHT2017 array after performing calibration steps, which include fringe fitting, a priori amplitude and network calibration, and self-calibration. With the planned addition of new stations to the EHT array in the coming years, images could be reconstructed with higher angular resolution and dynamic range. In our case study, these improvements allowed for a distinction between a thermal and a non-thermal GRMHD model based on salient features in reconstructed images.

Earthquake-collapsed building identification is important in earthquake damage assessment and is evidence for mapping seismic intensity. After the May 12th Wenchuan major earthquake occurred, experts from CEODE and IPSC collaborated to make a rapid earthquake damage assessment. A crucial task was to identify collapsed buildings from ADS40 images in the earthquake region. The difficulty was to differentiate collapsed buildings from concrete bridges, dry gravels, and landslide-induced rolling stones since they had a similar gray level range in the image. Based on the IPSC method, an improved automatic identification technique was developed and tested in the study area, a portion of Beichuan County. Final results showed that the technique's accuracy was over 95%. Procedures and results of this experiment are presented in this article. Theory of this technique indicates that it could be applied to collapsed building identification caused by other disasters. earthquake, airborne ADS40 data, collapsed building, reflectance similarity, automatic detection Change detection of pre-and post-earthquake sites using high-resolution remote sensing data plays an important role in assessing damages caused by earthquakes. In particular, earthquake-collapsed buildings can be extracted through change detection techniques, which use pre-and post-earthquake high-resolution satellite images such as SPOT5 and QuickBird, by radiometrically and geometrically correcting the image sets, then matching and subtracting them [13] . Incorporation of GIS data in this process can improve extraction accuracy [46] . Threedimensional information can also be used to identify collapsed buildings. Turker extracted DEM information using airborne stereo image pairs before and after the earthquake to see the landscape deformation, and by comparing the difference of three-dimensional images collapsed buildings were identified [7] . SAR data, the coherence and intensity information of radar images such as ALOS/PALSAR, ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat ASAR, have also been applied in pre-and post-disaster building detection [812] . In addition, optical and microwave remote sensing information on disaster can be synthesized [13] . However, the change detection method could not meet the requirement for regions without preearthquake high-resolution images to make rapid damage assessment.Airborne remote sensing techniques have a characteristic of rapid response, and also can support multi-optical sensors and SAR devices. Almost immediately after the Wenchuan major earthquake on May 12, 2008, two B4101 Citation II/Model 550 aircrafts belonging to CEODE were made ready with a high-resolution ADS40 optical camera and a high-resolution radar system respectively. They flew over the most damaged areas of

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