Nigeria using satellites to monitor crops, watch for oil spills, and help the military

While NASA’s Curiosity rover project is focused on learning more about other planets, Nigeria’s space program is collecting crucial data that’s directly helping the country in a variety of ways. According to a BBC report, the two satellites Nigeria has launched in the last few years are helping the country keep tabs on its agricultural stocks to help forecast and protect long-term food supplies — it’s also being used to monitor the Niger Delta’s crude oil supply for both theft and oil spills. The country is even using its satellite program, which began only ten years ago, to monitor its fight with militants in the northern part of Nigeria. While there’s a lot of good the program can do, not everyone is convinced of its usefulness — the country may be able to collect potentially useful information, but it needs to act on it in a timely fashion for it to be truly worthwhile.