Report updated Apr 3, 2026
DISCS - Drought Information
v1.1Agricultural professionals, researchers, and citizen scientists interested in monitoring and contributing to drought and hydrologic data.
What Is DISCS - Drought Information?
Launched Sep 22, 2017
Updated Nov 2017
What does it look like?
What are the key features?
Allows users to upload photos and report local crop conditions, health, and soil moisture to assist researchers.
Integrates user reports with U.S. Drought Monitor data, NOAA rainfall data, and NASA satellite imagery.
Enables users to view their own reports alongside those submitted by other citizen scientists.
Provides access to soil moisture data from ground sensors and NASA modeling approaches.
What do users think? iIndependent intel reports to help builders create better apps or enhance existing ones. Still in beta, accuracy and relevancy get better every day. For informational purposes only.
Gathering public signals...
Sentiment analysis will be available once enough user reviews are collected.
What are the pros and cons?
Pros
- Direct integration with NASA and NOAA data streams
- Unique fusion of ground-truth photos and satellite imagery
- High scientific credibility and institutional backing
Cons
- Product stagnation (no updates since 2017)
- Very low user rating (2.0 stars)
- Limited platform availability and low user engagement
What is the market outlook?
Growth Opportunities
- Modernize UI/UX to capture interest in climate change monitoring
- Implement gamification to increase citizen scientist participation
- Expand to Android to reach a broader global agricultural base
Market Threats
- User migration to more active platforms like CoCoRaHS
- Technical obsolescence due to lack of OS compatibility updates
- Commercial Ag-tech competitors offering superior user experiences
Who competes with DISCS - Drought Information?
The Nemesis
Why it's a threat
- +
Higher rated at 4.7★ vs 2.0★
- +
Personalized Narration
Peers
The gold standard for environmental citizen science data collection and community observation.
Biodiversity Identification
Climate FieldView™
The Climate Corporation
A professional-grade tool for monitoring field health and precipitation data.
A professional-grade tool for monitoring field health and precipitation data.
What are the key takeaways?
DISCS - Drought Information is a divisive education app that is completely free. With a 2.0/5 rating from 3 reviews, it receives mixed feedback from users.
Best for: Agricultural professionals, researchers, and citizen scientists interested in monitoring and contributing to drought and hydrologic data.
How much does it cost?
Model: free
The app is a non-profit research tool developed by NASA, focusing on data collection and public engagement rather than monetization.
iOS Version
1.1
Release Date
Sep 22, 2017
iOS Price
Free