NASA Acres FIAT Showcases NASA Earth Science on Capitol Hill

Hosted by Senator Jerry Moran (KS), the NASA Acres Farm Innovation Ambassador Team (FIAT) Capitol Hill Reception brought together more than 250 participants from across the country last month to showcase how NASA Earth observation science is strengthening American agriculture. Congressional staff from dozens of Senate and House offices joined farmers, NASA Earth Science and NASA Acres leadership, researchers, agricultural organizations, and industry partners to explore how NASA's satellite data and decades-long commitment to agriculture are improving productivity, resilience, and competitiveness.

Collaboration and Innovation for American Agriculture at the NASA Acres Science Meeting

How can NASA Earth observation science better serve American agriculture? That question brought together more than one hundred researchers, farmers, extension professionals, industry leaders, and partners from across the country for the 2026 NASA Acres Science Meeting at the University of Maryland.

Bringing Farmer Perspectives to NASA: FIAT Visits Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA Headquarters

Members of the NASA Acres Farm Innovation Ambassador Team (FIAT) visited NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA Headquarters for a day of collaboration with the scientists, engineers, and leaders developing NASA's Earth observation and space exploration capabilities for the benefit of American agriculture. During the visits, FIAT members received an inside look at the science, technology, and operations behind NASA's Earth observation missions, toured the Earth Information Center, and met with NASA Earth Science leadership for a roundtable discussion. 

The impacts of cover crop biomass on satellite-based detectability of cover crops in Maryland

This study by NASA Acres RD&E partners Drs. Kaiyu Guan, W. Dean Hively, Alison Thieme, Steven Mirsky, and other researchers investigates how cover crop biomass affects satellite-based detection in Maryland using remote sensing data from 2017-2021. The researchers developed a time-integrated satellite approach using Harmonized Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 data to estimate cover crop biomass and evaluate detectability. The study demonstrates how management practices affect cover crop biomass and detectability via satellite time series and provides insights that can inform management of cover crops and monitoring of their effects on agroecosystems.