I was an invited panelist at the ASCENDx Space Policy and Education Summit on October 21st. The session was entitled “Harvesting Earth Satellite Data for Societal Benefit” and it was part of the track on “Earth Observation for Global Good”. The event was open to the public and all of the sessions are available on a YouTube Channel. My participation in this session is part of my commitment to research, and the importance of contributing to knowledge that benefits the world.
My general take away from the session:
“The composition of the panel was so diverse. Chris Holmes from Planet represented the beginning of the data-to-decision-making pathway by talking about satellite data. I was available to present on societal access to data and information (the end of the data-to-decision-making pathway). Margaret Hurwitz and Dan Irwin both spoke about specific case studies in which pathways had been tested. Some of the panel discussion centered around a paper that I had published with co-authors earlier this year, Ten rules to increase the societal value of Earth Observations, and I was glad to have some positive feedback on whether or not we got the rules right! Overall, the panel was quite optimistic as well as well-aligned in our thoughts about the future of Earth Science data for the benefit of society, and the challenges that we are still confronting in that domain.”
Here is the complete list of speakers in the session:
Introduction: Lt Gen Larry James, USAF (Ret.), Deputy Director, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Moderator: Randall R. Friedl, Deputy Director, Earth Science and Technology Directorate, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Panelists:
– Chris Holmes, Senior Vice President, Product Architecture, Planet
– Margaret Hurwitz, Hydroclimate Services Lead, National Weather Service
– Dan Irwin, Research Scientist, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and Global Program Manager, SERVIR
– Arika Virapongse, Founder and Principal Consultant, Middle Path EcoSolutions
The recording of the session is here: