Using the nighttime sensing capabilities of instruments on NOAA–NASA satellites, scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) have observed the changes in light usage around Ukraine since January 2022. After a significant reduction of lights in March, power has slowly been restored and regular human activity has appeared to pick up in several parts of the country, particularly around the capital.

For more than a decade, Becker-Reshef , Sergii Skakun and other NASA-funded scientists have been developing innovative satellite-based techniques to monitor commodity crops such as wheat and maize in Ukraine. The interdisciplinary group collects and analyzes environmental, economic, and social science data in order to improve agriculture-related decision-making around the world. With the arrival of war, such tools could play a key role in anticipating and averting food shortages and famines.