Real World: Food Security – Monitoring Crops From Space
Discover how NASA's Earth-observing satellites gather data to monitor food growth. Dr. Inbal Becker-Reshef describes how mathematics is used to interpret satellite data and describe vegetation and crop yield. Dr. Hannah Kerner shares how algorithms and models use NASA data to describe and predict food supply and food shortages. This work through NASA Harvest provides tools for farmers and governments to describe and predict food security worldwide.
Discussion and writing prompts
1. NASA satellites can collect information about crops over large areas much more quickly than people on the ground. What advantages do satellites provide when monitoring agricultural conditions, and what kinds of information can they help scientists and farmers collect?
2. Food security depends on many factors, including weather, water availability, soil conditions, and plant health. How can scientific observations from space help communities prepare for challenges that could affect their food supply?
3. Growing healthy crops depends on interactions among Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere. How do changes in one Earth system affect the others, and why is it important to study these connections when addressing food security?
Background Information
Grades 3 through 12
- NASA eClips Ask SME: Remote Sensing Scientist Dr. Catherine Nakalembe (video)
- NASA eClips Ask SME: Program Director Dr. Inbal Becker-Reshef (video)
- NASA eClips Ask SME: U.S. Domestic Co-Lead & AI Lead Dr. Hannah Kerner (video)
Grades 4 through 12
- NASA eClips Our World: Where Do Crops Grow? (video)
Grades 5 through 12
- NASA NASA At Your Table: The Space Agency's Surprising Role in Agriculture (website/videos)
- NASA NASA Harvest (website)
- NASA Earth Science Applied Sciences Ensuring Food Security (website)
Grades 6 through 12
- AgriPulse How NASA Technology Helps Farmers at Home and Abroad (webpage)
- NASA From Seed to Market: NASA Brings Food to the Table (webpage)
- NASA NASA is Everywhere: Farming Tech with Roots in Space (website)
Activities
Grades K through 12
- Agriculture in the Classroom Agriculture in the Classroom (webpage)
Grades 3 through 12
- MY NASA Data Observing Annual Vegetation Changes Mini Lesson/Activity (webpage)
- My NASA Data Computing Vegetation Health Mini Lesson/Activity (webpage)
Grades 6 through 8
- My NASA Data Tracking Change Over Time - Understanding Remote Sensing (webpage)
Grades 6 through 12
- My NASA Data Analyzing Land Changes Over Tiime (pdf)
- My NASA Data Exploring Satellite Imagery and False Color Images (pdf)