An overview of remote sensing education projects sponsored by the NASA Space Grant Program

Congress established the NASA National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant) with legislation enacted in 1988. Congress conceived the program to ensure continued US strength in space-related research and education and to capitalize on the multiple opportunities afforded by the space environment. Space Grant consists of a national network of 52 university-based consortia in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These consortia partner over 550 affiliate institutions. Members include colleges, universities, business and industrial partners, state and local government agencies, and other nonprofit organizations. Space Grant consortia actively engage in remote sensing education on a variety of fronts that span informal education to faculty internships. With its presence in every state, Space Grant provides an effective interface for the formation of partnerships among NASA program offices, university and precollege educators, researchers, business and industry, and state and local governments. Specifically, Space Grant is presently building partnerships with NASA´s Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) and with the Cooperative Extension Service (CES). The partnership with MTPE will bring space imagery to class rooms from kindergarten through college. As facilitator with a multidimensional interface, Space Grant may help to alleviate the duplication of effort that often plagues educational projects. The partnership with CES will bring information and expertise about RS data and products to local communities in the areas of agriculture, land use, wetlands, forestry, water management, and others