NASA offers petabytes of global Earth science data

STEM holds different meanings to users in the education communities.

MND recognizes that teaching science is about helping students make sense of the world around them, not memorizing facts and principles. MND makes teaching Earth Science easier (and more interesting) by organizing NASA data with the phenomena that they support.

Soil Conservation Technicians collect and manage survey data for conservation, develop a plan to implement conservation actions, and supervise fieldwork.  Their work starts with developing physical resource plans and documents on the history of the land. Technicians survey, layout, and section off the site.  They assist the landowner in selecting, installing, and maintaining a variety of measures that conserve and improve the soil, plant, water, marsh, wildlife and recreational resources of the land.

Geospatial Information Scientists and Technologists research geospatial data or develop geospatial technologies. Geospatial data is data that has a geographic component associated with it, such as coordinates or an address, and geospatial technologies are the technologies used to collect and analyze geospatial data. 

Within the science education community, there is a shift in focus from content-driven instruction to that of the processes and practices associated with the acquisition of scientific knowledge.

Science educators strive to engage students in authentic investigations that have students analyze data in order to derive meaning.  MND provides unlimited opportunities to engage students in data analysis using Earth System data. 

An important scientific practice is the asking and refining of questions that lead to rich descriptions, explanations, and reasoning of how the natural and designed world works, as well as those investigations of variables that can be empirically tested.

Scientists and engineers use and develop models for representing ideas and explanations.

Scientists and engineers develop the procedures for their research and then carry out their investigations in a variety of environments (i.e., in the lab, outdoors, with others, as well as independently).  They must plan in advance their criteria for the data they wish to collect, the conditions