SDGs and COVID-19

This challenge invites you to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by looking at the current and ongoing change in the monitoring indicators of the UN SDGs using Earth observation/remote sensing and global Earth system model-derived analysis products.

Earth, do humans feel you?

Summary

Indeed COVID 19 has created a huge impact on all inhabitants of the earth. To point, per data from Reuters, Global hunger and health issues could double due to the pandemic as mentioned by the UN. But, wait a minute as per NASA as mentioned by UNOOSA, water, oxygen, urine, lightning can all be used to aiming for a sustainable consumption and production pattern. This can indeed be the greatest gift humans can give the earth, if we are able to do what astronauts are able to do on the ISS.

How We Addressed This Challenge

Application performed on the ISS in space will and must be used in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Satellite data can provide us with valuable data. We need motivated humans so that we can be prepared to work on this challenge. 

This question as per our project is addressed below point wise: 

  1. SDG 2 - Zero Hunger: Firstly we need to use Science for a world that is hungry. We must identify how we can stabilize the food system through remote sensing. This will help us identify problems found through the NDVI. Through this, we can let scientists, private, and government entities work on it. 
  2. SDG 3 - Health and Well Being & DG 6, Clean Water, and Sanitation: Truly, if we use reusable urine, oxygen that can be reused as per done on the ISS and many. We will be able to maintain and address the issues as per the SDG.The surprising fact that in order for this we again need to use science again. 
  3. SDG 7, Access to Clean and Affordable Energy, SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities & SDG 15, Life on Land: Strongly for this, we need to consider the impact of climate change when targeting these goals. 
How We Developed This Project

The COVID 19 pandemic, until date gave us a 2-month break from our work and college activities. During this time, we taught the SDG goals at a rural school in India for 3 weeks. But prior to this, we attended multiple NASA webinars and Citizen Science classes. These gave us exposure to the multiple pathways we have when we combine space and climate using science. 

So our team comprises college students, one who is doing research on designing a VHF radar for the ionosphere, second who is a biomedical engineer working specifically on how to reuse medical waste, and a third who is working on a waste pollution detection project. 

All our interests combine towards saving the planet and we realized that all the SDG goals come around one specific problem, climate change. 

Project Demo

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12mED5cOGUyL1jKxmfx7QWVlNswxhzAJ5?usp=sharing

Data & Resources

I have referred multiple organizations and all are mentioned below: 

  1.  https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/space4sdgs/sdg12.html
  2. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-un-food/global-hunger-could-double-due-to-covid-19-blow-u-n-idUSKBN22313U
  3. https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/space4sdgs/index.html
  4. https://www.who.int/sdg/targets/en/
  5. https://www.space4water.org/taxonomy/term/8
Tags
#NASA #UNOOSA #ClimateChange #Earth #SDGs #Engineer #radar #antenna #biomedical #nasa #esa #jaxa#isro #Future #youth #children #actfirstthenspeak
Global Judging
This project was submitted for consideration during the Space Apps Global Judging process.