It was 1972 when NASA launched Landsat 1, the first satellite designed to study our planet, and with it came a revolution in remote sensing technology for agriculture.

Dr. Alyssa Whitcraft has a lead role in NASA’s two major agricultural programs today and she was keynote speaker for the 2023 Tech Hub LIVE opening general session to a standing room only crowd. She is the co-founder and deputy director of NASA Harvest, an international program, and Executive Director of NASA Acres, which is focused on the U.S., and she has high hopes for the NASA Harvest Consortium to support a new revolution in ag technology.

“I think public science builds a bigger pie, it’s a public good that hopefully enriches our collective ability to provide on-farm solutions,” said Whitcraft. “It’s really about addressing the solutions that we all know are needed.”

Whitcraft believes that NASA’s role in helping build ag tech is for the public good, “If our objectives are to fight climate change, build a resilient agriculture system that feeds us today and into the future, and maintain the U.S. standing as the largest food exporter in the world.”

Listen to Whitcraft’s presentation here:
2023 Tech Hub LIVE presentation - Alyssa Whitcraft, NASA (41:39)