Remote sensing—the acquiring of information from a distance—is the technology that underlies much of NASA's vast archive of Earth observation data. Our fleet of observing satellites is constantly gathering data about Earth's systems, helping people on the ground quantify and characterize the interaction among complex Earth systems.
For those new to the field, NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training Program (ARSET) offers a free online training, Fundamentals of Remote Sensing, which requires no previous experience in remote sensing. This training provides an overview of how remote sensing works, introduces the platforms and instruments that "sense" data from space, and walks through the basics of data visualization using open-access tools such as Worldview, an easy-to-use online application that connects users to more than 1,200 Earth data products, many of which are available in near real-time. Participants will also learn how remote-sensed data is used in dynamic fields including land management, wildfire tracking, and water resource management—and which data and tools are best suited for each field.
