DOWN to EARTH:NASA’s latest mission addresses U.S. farmer needs

摘要

When you think of NASA, do missions to the moon or Mars come to mind? If so, you might be surprised to learn the agency is increasingly focused on missions closerto home-those on planet Earth."We have 26 different missions underway, with satellites orbiting Earth, studying the entire planet as a system-the land, the atmosphere, the oceans, all of it," says Karen St. Germain, directorforscience at NASA.The information gleaned by NASA scientists today is disseminated to various organizations, including USDA, for use. For instance, data gathered by NASA routinely informs the USDA World AgriculturalSupply and Demand Estimates reports.