Astro Focus

Universal Event | What on Earth is Synthetic Aperture Radar?

Awards & Nominations

Astro Focus has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!

Global Nominee

Astro Focus on SAR

High-Level Project Summary

I created a video to educate the general public about Synthetic Aperture Radar, including how it works, its data collection, and upcoming applications. By including comparisons to common experiences (such as a ball bouncing off a wall) and engaging visuals, I explained Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in simple, understandable language. The importance of this topic shines through within my video when I explain possible applications of SAR data. SAR data can be used to identify and predict changes in the Earth's structure, making it extremely important for the general public understand so they can decipher the data, understand its importance, and adequately prepare for natural disasters.

Link to Project "Demo"

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tNxrXJGbcY-f1sDQ4VSxX-5UKdFJETk1pZtlvLOlvyg/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Final Project

https://youtu.be/OgERZwEK9qU

Detailed Project Description

My project breaks down the concept of Synthetic Aperture Radar in a simple way so that the general public is able to understand it and learn more about the technology. I have combined engaging and relevant visuals (including labeled diagrams and photographs) with subtitles and a voiceover to effectively convey the information. For example, I included diagrams of SAR satellites and of varying wavelengths of SAR satellites, both of which will help my viewers visualize what I am speaking about. The content included a brief overview of SAR, how SAR works, recent applications of SAR and why SAR matters. When explaining how SAR works, I used an analogy to bouncing a ball off of a wall to explain the reflection of SAR signals and how they are recorded. I also provided several examples of current and future SAR missions, including the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellite, Canadian Space Agency’s Radarsat Constellation Mission, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Advanced Land Observing Satellite. I concluded my video by discussing the realistic applications of this data and how it can help communities prepare for natural disasters. Through this project, I hope to educate the general public about the importance of SAR data. This education will be beneficial so that we, as a society, can be better prepared for natural disasters and other structural changes of the Earth. SAR also helps us better understand earth science so we can build a better future for our future generations. To develop my project, I used WeVideo and CheckSub. I used a lot of pictures, all of which are credited in the References section. To develop my project demo, I used a Slides Carnival template and Google Slides. I am so glad I got the opportunity to participate in the 2021 NASA Space Apps Challenge and learn so much!

Space Agency Data

Below are the resources I used which included space agency data:


The SAR data I found on these websites was in the form of images, and I was able to use them to provide examples of SAR data within my video. It was extremely inspiring for me to see what SAR data looked like, and it truly helped me understand and grasp the potential applications of this data. If I had more time to work on this project, I would use this SAR data to create a mobile application that would retrieve SAR data based on the user's location and provide them with predictions for what natural disasters/other changes were coming their way.

Hackathon Journey

My Space Apps experience has been amazing! I did not know anything about Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) before, and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to learn more about it through this project. Through this experience, I also learned a lot more about video editing, including adding subtitles, which is something I had never done before, and creating concise slides to demo something I have worked on. I was inspired to choose this challenge because I personally did not know anything about Synthesis Aperture Radar (SAR) prior to completing this project, and it seemed like an interesting aspect of space technology. By completing this project, I hoped to learn more about this subject, which I certainly have! I also think that it is essential for the general public to understand the significance of certain scientific discoveries and technologies, and this project allowed me to help work towards that purpose! My approach to developing this project was pretty straightforward - I wanted to present the information about this topic in simple language. I decided to include some analogies to aspects of everyday life that the general public may be a bit more familiar with, which helped me communicate the information effectively. I also made sure to include engaging and relevant visuals that changed as I spoke about different topics to complement my narration. I also included some background music to further engage my viewers. Overall, Space Apps has been an incredible learning experience, and I look forward to possibly participating in the event next year in person!

References

Resources for script:


Video Editing Software: WeVideo


Image Credits for visuals used throughout video:

Tags

#video, #SAR, #synthethicapertureradar, #education, #importantapplications

Global Judging

This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.

What on Earth is Synthetic Aperture Radar?

Upcoming space missions will provide an abundance of Synthetic Aperture Radar data; however, the tremendous impact this data can have will only be realized if the public understands the data and its potential. Your challenge is to create a 2-5 minute video explaining Synthetic Aperture Radar technology to the public in your own language with English subtitles.