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Science in Action

NASA satellites and sensors constantly take the pulse of our planet, measuring how Earth changes by the day, season, year, and decade. Researchers and resource managers analyze those measurements and apply them on local and regional scales to better manage things like our food and water supplies, health, safety, land use, and ecosystems. NASA data is also used by other government agencies to help with responses to natural disasters and emergencies around the country and the world.

An Earth Observatory Collection

Seeing the Monroe Canyon Fire in a New Light
5 min read

As wildland fires raged in the American West, NASA airborne technology was there to image it in incredible detail.

Aug 15, 2025
SWOT Spots Tsunami Wave After Kamchatka Quake
4 min read

Data provided by the water satellite are helping to improve tsunami forecast models.

Aug 13, 2025
How to Rotate Crops
5 min read

That’s a key question for many farmers, and new research may make it easier to develop growing season plans.

Jul 27, 2025
Mapping Fire’s Spread in a Georgia Pine Burn
5 min read

NASA airborne technology revealed the progression of a controlled fire at Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield.

Jul 15, 2025
Western Mountain Snow Melts Fast and Early
4 min read

A warm and dry spring in the Pacific Northwest quickly depleted the seasonal snowpack, raising concern over summer water supplies…

Jun 27, 2025
Forty Years of Change in Louisiana’s Wetlands
5 min read

Scientists used Landsat satellite images to detect both abrupt and gradual changes and to examine how phenomena, from storms to…

May 18, 2025
Mapping the Tiny Plankton That Feed Giant Right Whales
4 min read

Researchers used NASA satellite data to detect swarms of red-tinged copepods, a key food source for the endangered marine mammals,…

May 11, 2025
Blackout in Andalusia
3 min read

Satellite-derived maps of nighttime lights in southern Spain revealed power outages that persisted across rural areas as the region was…

Apr 30, 2025
Wildfire Maps Help Firefighters in Real Time
5 min read

Detailed fire maps, produced in minutes with data from a NASA airborne sensor, enabled firefighters in Alabama to limit the…

Apr 28, 2025
Seamounts and Abyssal Hills Mapped From Space
5 min read

Depictions of the seafloor derived from satellite data can improve underwater navigation and increase knowledge of how heat and life…

Mar 31, 2025
Where California’s Land Is Sinking and Rising
2 min read

The elevation changes may seem small, amounting to fractions of inches per year, but they can increase or decrease local…

Feb 21, 2025
Los Angeles-Area Landslide Expands
3 min read

NASA radar imagery revealed that the active area of a decades-old landslide has grown following periods of heavy rainfall in…

Feb 6, 2025
Fuel for California Fires
5 min read

The buildup of vegetation and a rapid shift from wet to dry conditions played a role in the destructive blazes.

Jan 30, 2025
Unhealthy Skies over Los Angeles County
4 min read

A series of images captured by NASA’s TEMPO sensor show the shifting location of nitrogen dioxide as destructive fires raged…

Jan 17, 2025
Eaton Fire Leaves California Landscape Charred
3 min read

A NASA airborne instrument captured images of the fire’s aftermath in and around Altadena.

Jan 15, 2025
2024 Was the Warmest Year on Record
5 min read

A NASA analysis shows that global temperatures in 2024 were 1.28 degrees Celsius (2.30 degrees Fahrenheit) above the agency’s 20th-century…

Jan 10, 2025
The Fast Fire Threat
8 min read

Two decades of satellite data show that the most destructive U.S. fires burn in grasslands and shrublands fanned by strong…

Dec 11, 2024
Nighttime Lights Reveal Industrial Activity in the Arctic
4 min read

Satellite observations at night indicate that oil, gas, and mining have expanded across Earth’s northern latitudes.

Dec 8, 2024
Mangroves Are Losing Their Resilience
4 min read

The iconic trees and shrubs of the Florida Everglades are under increased stress due to more frequent, intense hurricanes.

Dec 4, 2024
Global Freshwater Abruptly Declines
4 min read

The amount of freshwater stored on land and underground has plummeted in the past decade, which might indicate that Earth’s…

Nov 22, 2024
Signs of Sea Level Rise in the Bahamas
4 min read

Rising seas have redistributed cyanobacterial mats blanketing part of Andros Island and restructured the island’s marshes and mudflats.

Nov 17, 2024