Key idea: As access to space increases, the potential for terrestrial benefits directly tied to space exploration grow exponentially.
Original author and publication date: Ajwal Dsouza & Thomas Graham – September 10, 2022
Futurizonte Editor’s Note: Now that space agriculture is a reality, what else will follow?
From the article:
Whether to spend money on outer space exploration or to apply it to solve serious problems on Earth, like climate change and food shortages, is a contentious debate.
But one argument in favor of space exploration highlights benefits that do, in fact, help study, monitor and address serious concerns like climate change and food production.
As access to space increases, the potential for terrestrial benefits directly tied to space exploration grow exponentially.
For example, agriculture has been improved significantly through the application of space-based advances to terrestrial challenges. It is now increasingly likely that food items have been produced with the assistance of space-based technologies, like freeze-dried foods, or through the use of crop monitoring from space-based observatories.
Monitoring farmlands
Satellite monitoring is arguably the most realized benefit of space for farming. Like mindful eyes in the sky, satellites watch over the farmlands across the globe day and night. Specialized sensors on relevant satellites (for example, NASA’s Landsat, the European Space Agency’s Envisat and the Canadian Space Agency’s RADARSAT) monitor various parameters relevant to agriculture.
