On March 6-9, over 22,000 explored the Austin Public Library for the annual South by Southwest Festival (SXSW). At the NASA booth, attendees were greeted by Landsat Outreach Specialist Mike Taylor, who demonstrated the power of the STELLA DIY handheld spectrometer. Once the audience attention was captured by the interactive demonstration, he explained the wide-ranging societal benefits of Landsat, sharing the Landsat Case Studies book and a one-pager about Landsat Next. He also gave away glossy Landsat postcards.One day two, the booth was expanded, allowing for a more comprehensive introduction to remote sensing.

NASA experts also participated in a panel called “NASA Uses Space Tech To Tackle Earth’s Food & Water Issues” featuring Bradley Doorn (Program Manager for Agriculture), Erin Jephson-Urquhart (Program Manager for the NASA Earth Action Water Resource program), Karen St. Germain (Director of the Earth Science Division), and Joseph Westlake (Director of the Heliophysics Division).