as ISSAC Agricultural Camera – (AgCam) AgCam name used historically from 2005-2010, later version known
2010, LATER VERSION KNOWN AS ISSAC
Research Area: Earth Remote Sensing
Expedition(s): 19- 22
Principal Investigator(s): ● Bruce Smith, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks,
North Dakota
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The Agricultural Camera (AgCam) takes frequent
images, in visible and infrared light, of vegetated
areas on Earth such as crops, rangeland,
grasslands, forests, and wetlands in the northern
Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions of the
United States. Requesting parties (eg, farmers,
ranchers, foresters, natural resource managers,
tribal officials, and educators) directly receive
images within 2 days of requests, which helps
them improve environmental stewardship.
Students and faculty at the University of North
Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, chiefly built
and operate the AgCam.
EARTH BENEFITS
Anticipated benefits from AgCam data and
information product imagery include nitrogen application maps for efficient fertilizer use,
agriculture management zone decision support systems for nutrient and invasive species
management, and rangeland management tools to improve livestock allocation and evaluation.
The rapid responsiveness of AgCam imagery may also aid in disaster management applications,
such as flood monitoring and wilderness fire mapping.
SPACE BENEFITS
AgCam is a space-related research project that provides direct benefits from space to the
general public. Increasing the relevance of space-related research activities in the daily lives of
the general public will benefit all ISS applications, whether for space or Earth applications. By
using AgCam data in support of precision agriculture activities, the public will receive benefits
synergistically from 3 different space systems: (1) Earth-observing from the ISS, (2) in-field
navigation from the Global Positioning System (GPS), and (3) data delivery via satellite
communications. With respect to the educational aspect of the AgCam project, using students
to develop and operate AgCam helps train the next generation of scientists and engineers that
will work on future space-based applications.
The Agricultural Camera is installed in the
WORF Ground Test Rack. Shown with
simultaneous installation of EarthKAM.