VIDEO: Sen. Moran Questions NASA Nominee on Importance of Earth Science Programs for Kansas Agriculture

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (Kan.) - chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation - today questioned the NASA Administrator nominee, Jared Isaacman, during his nomination hearing. In his remarks, Sen. Moran emphasized to Mr. Isaacman the significant role that NASA's Earth Science Division plays in supporting the agriculture industry and shared a letter from a Kansas farmer, Dwane Roth of Holcomb, on the importance of NASA's earth science research.

"I want to mention for a moment the mission directive of science, and the letter that captured me is from a Kansas farmer named Mr. Roth," said Sen. Moran. "He indicates to me that NASA's earth science investments - I'm reading directly from his letter - now directly support U.S. farmers in ways that were unimaginable even a decade ago. Tools based on NASA's data and science - like OpenET, NISAR, the Rangeland Analysis Platform - provide real-time field level insight into soil moisture, biomass, drought stress, water use, yield stability. These aren't future technologies, he says, they are already built, functional and being used in states like mine."

Sen. Moran went on to highlight the NASA Acres Farm Innovation Ambassador Team (FIAT), a national partnership that connects producers with NASA researchers to develop practical tools for farming using satellite data.

"This mission is to unite farmers with NASA to turn earth observation technology into real-world decisions that support profitability, water efficiency and risk reduction," continued Sen. Moran. "A Kansas farmer found value in NASA. It's something we don't always talk about and think about when we think about space. I'm looking for your thoughts in response to what this farmer is reminding me of. How do you see NASA supporting or operationally developing the satellites that support precision agriculture? Tell me your response to this idea that NASA has a role to play in the everyday lives of Kansas and American agriculture."

"At the present time, we only inhabit one planet," responded Mr. Isaacman. "Earth science is pretty vitally important. It's a role that NASA has had since the agency was established. We have Landsat satellites up there that are looking down, understanding droughts and flooding and wildfires - natural disasters - almost essentially in real time that obviously play a direct role on the agriculture community. There's obviously our GPS constellations that are going to go hand-in-hand with agriculture equipment for next generation farming. So, I do see this as a vital role that NASA continues to fulfill."

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Click HERE to Watch Sen. Moran's Full Questioning

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