[PCA] Fwd: USDA and NASA Expand Innovative Partnership to Better Predict Wildfires, Monitor Drought from Space

Thu Jul 16 12:47:53 CDT 2015

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USDA Office of Communications, Jul 16, 2015

Release No. 0208.15

Contact: Office of Communications (202)720-4623

USDA and NASA Expand Innovative Partnership to Better Predict Wildfires,
Monitor Drought from Space

*Updated Memorandum of Understanding strengthens research and data sharing,
promotes STEM and agriculture to younger generations*

MOFFETT FIELD, California, July 16, 2015—Agriculture Deputy Secretary
Krysta Harden and NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman today announced an
expanded partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
designed to better protect America's working lands, predict and prevent
natural disasters, and inspire young people to pursue careers in science,
technology, engineering, mathematics and agriculture.

"Space is a unique laboratory that can be a gateway to solving some of the
greatest agricultural challenges of our time," says Deputy Secretary
Harden. "This partnership is a powerful opportunity for USDA and NASA to
yield new tools and techniques to help farmers and ranchers as they deal
with the ongoing impacts of climate change and drought. Perhaps most
importantly, this partnership will expose more young people to the power of
science and innovation to solve some of the world's most pressing
challenges."

"There are many areas where NASA and USDA have overlapping interests," said
NASA's Deputy Administrator Dava Newman. "We can now better coordinate and
build on the resources of both NASA and the USDA to help learn more about
our planet's vital resources and inspire the next generation to become
better stewards of our planet."

Among other things, the agreement will expand cooperation on space-borne
remote sensing efforts to gather soil moisture data. One potential outcome
of the expanded partnership between USDA and NASA could be using satellite
data to create a series of soil moisture maps for California that could be
used to improve weather and water availability forecasting and provide a
drought early-warning system to producers, particularly in California.

Under the new agreement, USDA now has expanded access to data from NASA
satellites that will help Forest Service fire fighters and first responders
better detect wildfires and predict their behavior. USDA and the Department
of the Interior have spent nearly $1.5 billion annually over the past
decade on wildfire suppression, but this new technology has the potential
to stop wildfires before they start, saving money, land, and even lives.

Deputy Secretary Harden and Deputy Administrator Newman were joined by
California 4-H members at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View,
California, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalizing the
expanded collaboration between USDA and NASA. As hunger and climate change
are rapidly escalating threats to public health and national security, both
NASA and USDA have a role to play in inspiring the next generation of
students to pursue careers in STEM and agricultural fields.

Ames Research Center, one of ten NASA field enters, is located in the heart
of California's Silicon Valley. For more than 75 years, Ames has led NASA
in conducting world-class research and development in aeronautics,
exploration technology and science aligned with the center's core
capabilities. The International Space Station (ISS), operated by NASA,
includes a National Laboratory where ground-breaking scientific research is
conducted every day. Currently, NASA has a mini veggie farm at the
International Space Station to grow fresh produce like lettuce.

Since 2009, USDA has invested $4.32 billion in research and development
grants. Studies have shown that every dollar invested in agricultural
research now returns over $20 to our economy. In recent years, research by
USDA scientists has led to discoveries of everything from a potential
solution for millions who suffer allergies from peanuts to safe mosquito
control that can help halt the transmission of diseases they spread, among
others. For the latest on discoveries by USDA researchers, read the 2014
Annual Report on Technology Transfer
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