Educators Leverage NASA TEMPO Data for Student Air Quality Research

• NASA's CosmicDS project collaborated with the Smithsonian's BEST AQI initiative to train 13 educators in using real-time NASA pollution data.
• The training utilized TEMPO-Lab, a tool that visualizes hourly North American air quality measurements from the TEMPO satellite mission.
• Participants developed curriculum and case studies on topics including wildfire smoke, traffic emissions, and agricultural pollution to help teens investigate local air quality.

The TEMPO-Lab Tool

• The platform allows for rapid data integration, demonstrated by the overnight inclusion of a new beta-version ground-level ozone product during the workshop.
• The tool provides students with direct access to professional-grade data, enabling evidence-based research rather than relying on secondary resources.

Impact and Outreach

• The program aims to build data literacy skills, preparing students for future careers while empowering them to address environmental health issues in their communities.
• The 13 initial participants plan to share the BEST AQI toolkit and TEMPO-Lab software with approximately 100 additional educators across South Dakota, Maryland, and New York, reaching thousands of students.
• CosmicDS is supported by the NASA Science Activation Program.