BGU | The Sky is No Limit

Through SheSpace, these girls became immersed in a field that is not part of the regular high school curriculum – remote sensing.

Sheva and the surrounding region. They were majoring in a range of science tracks, including geography, chemistry, physics, and biology, and were all endowed with remarkable curiosity and high motivation, the ability to work well in a team, and personal excellence. “Through SheSpace, these girls became immersed in a field that is not part of the regular high school curriculum – remote sensing – or in other words, the acquisition of information about the Earth through satellite images. They learned how to carry out measurements in the field, as well as to process data from the satellite images. As part of the program, they also attended intensive summer camps, where they participated in workshops on personal empowerment and leadership. “Another highlight of the program was attending the annual meeting of the Israeli Geographical Association and presenting their research in panels dealing with remote sensing alongside experts from Israel and abroad,” recalls Dr. Maman. The culmination of the SheSpace program is a group research project. Each team chooses a topic in agricultural or environmental research to which remote sensing could be applied, and develops a method for processing the spectral data received from the VENμS satellite. The VENμS satellite was jointly launched by the Israeli and French space agencies in August 2017 (for more on the VENμS satellite, see page 21). Dr. Maman recalls how the program came to be aimed specifically at girls: “As researchers in the EPIF, we worked with images sent by the VENμS satellite, which at that time was at the

forefront of technology in terms of its spectral channels, and its spatial and temporal resolution. The name of the satellite immediately reminded us of the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, and from there the idea was born to devote the project to women only. It was only after we had begun that we understood the importance of such a project aimed specifically at girls.” The underlying premise of the program is that exposure at a young age to advanced fields of science and inspiring role models will encourage girls to overcome gender stereotypes and develop careers in fields traditionally considered masculine. And in addition to encouraging young women to study STEM subjects, there is the important message that each and every one of them is free to choose their areas of interest and have the right to do so in a supportive atmosphere, free of prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination.

SheSpace International Soars What started as a local program for girls from the Negev with a thirst for knowledge has since expanded to additional countries around the world, including Germany, the US, Brazil, South Korea, Spain, Ivory Coast, Togo, and Peru. As additional research teams joined the program, it became SheSpace International. Today, girls from around the world are studying the effects of climate change on their local environments – each group using data from a satellite over their own country – in an inspiring transnational collaboration. The Israeli team continues to work with data from the VENμS satellite, the German team receives data from Sentinel-2, the Americans from Landsat-8, and the Brazilians from CBERS. The program has been so successful it received the 2021 International Astronautical Federation’s Excellence in 3G (Geography, Gender, Generation) Diversity Award. As Dr. Maman said at the award ceremony, “this flagship project allows young women to participate in cutting-edge research, to utilize advanced space-based technologies with real-world research applications, and to build research collaborations and social connections that transcend international boundaries and borders.”

Today, girls from around the world are studying the effects of climate change on their local environments in an inspiring transnational collaboration.

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