David E Steitz Headquarters Washington DC May 8 2001 Phone 202/358-1730 Rosemary Sullivant/Carolina Martinez Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena CA Phone 818/354-0474 -9382 RELEASE 01-62 NASA SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY GOES DOWN ON THE FARM Some of the people closest to the land will be the first to benefit from a new global positioning technology developed to make NASA satellites more efficient and cost-effective Farmers will soon get the chance to put the new system to the test through a partnership between NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena CA and NavCom Technology Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Deere & Company Moline IL Tractors will be equipped with receivers providing instant location information which is vital for precision farming The technology will allow farmers to navigate fields at night and when visibility is poor More importantly with soil sensors and other monitors it will let them calculate and map out precisely where their fields may need more water fertilizer or weed control saving both time and money The system combines software developed by JPL and real-time global positioning system GPS data from the NASA Global GPS Network to produce corrections to the GPS orbits and clocks These corrections are broadcast to people using communication satellites operated by NavCom which has licensed the Internet-based Global Differential GPS software from JPL parent institution the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and plans to market the system this summer NASA Earth Science Enterprise supports pioneering exploration and discovery of our home planet while providing America and the world with practical societal benefits from our research said Dr Ghassem Asrar Associate Administrator for the Office of Earth Sciences NASA Headquarters Washington DC Our agreement with NavCom will accelerate NASA ability to develop test and demonstrate the utility of global real time precise GPS positioning for scientific and public applications said John LaBrecque Manager Solid Earth and Natural Hazards Program NASA Office of Earth Sciences While existing GPS data can be used to locate a position within a few meters the new Global Differential GPS system provides an instantaneous position to within 10 centimeters 4 inches horizontally and 20 centimeters 8 inches vertically anywhere on Earth No other system provides the same combination of accuracy and coverage In space the new technology may enable improved performance by NASA Earth-observing satellites Since the satellites will have precise information on their position the information may make onboard data processing more efficient and reduce the time needed to transmit the data to the ground NASA also expects this new positioning technology to open the possibility for new airborne exploration techniques through more accurately controlled flights of airborne sensors In the area of natural hazard monitoring real-time data from radar and ground networks of GPS receivers might provide the ability to monitor volcanic activity precisely and in real time like the motion before during and after major earthquakes said Dr Yoaz Bar-Sever Task Manager of the NASA global differential GPS demonstration at JPL The system ability to provide precise positioning information in real time has a variety of potential commercial applications in aviation marine operations land management transportation and agriculture The Commercial Technology Office at JPL is responsible for the collaboration between JPL and NavCom which will provide NASA with a continuous GPS differential-correction signal and also will invest in improving the NASA GPS infrastructure This collaboration is just one of several JPL programs designed to bring the benefits of the space program to American industry NASA Earth Science Enterprise Washington DC funds the development of the Global Differential GPS system The Enterprise is a long-term research effort dedicated to understanding how human-induced and natural changes affect our global environment