Science and Technology Education for Land / Life Assessment (S℡LA): Democratizing Remote Sensing Science With Low-Cost Open-Source Instruments for Research and Education

Abstract

NASA scientists and engineers, in collaboration with university researchers, have developed low-cost lightweight remote sensing instruments that anyone can build and use to bring remote sensing science to communities beyond traditional professional scientists. Built from commercially available components, these Science and Technology Education for Land/Life Assessment (STELLA) instruments measure light spectra over 18 channels in the visible and near-infrared range to permit detailed observation of natural and built surfaces and evaluation of vegetation reflectance characteristics. The simplest of the STELLA instruments, the STELLA-Q, can be quickly assembled by connecting the components with inexpensive cables, at a total cost of approximately $200 in 2025. The STELLA-1 supports additional sensors to measure surface temperature and ambient air parameters, and can be assembled by anyone who can solder, following step-by-step, wire-by-wire instructions. The open-source software for these instruments is written in a freely available variant of the Python programming language for ease of understanding. The data are recorded in plain text to a micro-SD card for ease of access and analysis. These inexpensive, accessible instruments make hands-on immersive remote sensing education widely available and can enable new areas of scientific research at spatial and temporal resolutions not practical with the necessarily smaller numbers of expensive instruments.