Brazil’s space agency, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), has reported the lowest rate (km²/yr) of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon since 1988 when the agency began its annual space-based assessments. Brazil uses Landsat data as a key input for their systematic monitoring of Amazonian deforestation, a project known as PRODES (Estimate of Amazon Gross Deforestation Project). From August 2008 to August 2009, INPE reported a deforestation rate of 7,008 square kilometers.
More information:
+ Project PRODES [external link; in Portuguese]

STELLA: A DIY Handheld Scientific Instrument
If you are looking for a do-it-yourself (DIY) handheld spectrometer, you need to meet STELLA. STELLA (Science and Technology Education for Land/Life Assessment) is a portable scientific instrument developed by