Earth Science in Action

We don’t just study climate. We act on it.

NASA collects data to show how our climate is changing from both natural causes and human activities, from documenting impacts on ice sheets, sea level, and Arctic sea ice to monitoring vegetation health and freshwater movement. We are putting decades of research, technology, and innovation to work to improve people's lives on our home planet.

NASA, Collaborators Announce a New Student Lunar Autonomy Challenge! 

3 min read

Space is hard, but it’s not all hardware.   The new Lunar Autonomy Challenge invites teams of students from U.S. colleges and universities to test their software development skills. Working entirely in virtual simulations of the Moon’s surface, teams will develop…

Station Science Top News: Oct. 4, 2024

3 min read

Engineered heart tissues in space showed impairments that led to increased arrhythmias and loss of muscle strength, changes similar to cardiac aging. This finding suggests that the engineered tissues, essentially an automated heart-on-a-chip platform, can be used to study cardiac issues in…

A group photo of all the organizers and participating educators in front of the NASA logo

Connected Learning Ecosystems: Educators Learning and Growing Together

3 min read

On August 19-20, 53 educators from a diverse set of learning contexts (libraries, K-12 classrooms, 4-H afterschool clubs, outdoor education centers, and more) gathered in Orono, Maine for the Learning Ecosystems Northeast (LENE) biannual Connect, Reflect, & Plan Connected Learning…

Systems Engineer Noosha Haghani Prepped PACE for Space

9 min read

Throughout the life cycles of missions, Goddard engineer Noosha Haghani has championed problem-solving and decision-making to get to flight-ready projects. Name: Noosha HaghaniTitle: Plankton Aerosol Clouds and Ecosystem (PACE) Deputy Mission Systems EngineerFormal Job Classification: Electrical engineerOrganization: Engineering and Technology…

An illustration showing the orbits of four newly named asteroids.

Four Asteroids Named After NASA Volunteers

3 min read

Four amateur astronomers working on NASA’s citizen science project, The Daily Minor Planet, were honored for their contributions to astronomy and planetary science by having asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter named after them. These volunteers reviewed…

NASA Seeks Innovative Artemis Lunar Logistics, Mobility Solutions

4 min read

NASA is asking U.S. industry to submit innovative architecture solutions that could help the agency land and move cargo on the lunar surfaced during future Artemis missions. Released in September, the agency’s request for proposal also supports NASA’s broader Moon…

About the Office of the General Counsel

3 min read

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) provides Agency-wide legal and strategic advice across a full spectrum of legal disciplines to further NASA’s mission. With legal leadership at Headquarters and at all NASA field installations across the country, OGC supports…

Journey Through Stars with NASA in New Minecraft Game

3 min read

NASA invites gamers, educators, and students to grab their pickaxe and check out its latest collaboration with Minecraft exploring a new world inspired by the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope. The partnership allows creators to experience NASA’s discoveries with interactive modules…

Public Participation in Machine Learning Bolsters Extraterrestrial Research

3 min read

When NASA conducts research beyond our world, scientists on Earth prepare as much as possible before sending instruments on extraterrestrial journeys. One way to prepare for these exploration missions is by using machine learning techniques to develop algorithms with data from…

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope’s ‘Exoskeleton’ Whirls Through Major Test

4 min read

A major component of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope just took a spin on the centrifuge at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Called the Outer Barrel Assembly, this piece of the observatory is designed to keep…

NASA Project Manager Honors Mother’s Impact

2 min read

Lee esta historia en Español aquí. Patricia Ortiz is proud to be a first-generation Salvadoran American. Her mother, born and raised in El Salvador, came to the United States for a better opportunity despite not knowing anyone or the English…

Una gerente de proyectos de la NASA rinde homenaje a la influencia de su madre

2 min read

Read this story in English here. Patricia Ortiz está orgullosa de ser una salvadoreña americana de primera generación. Su madre, nacida y criada en El Salvador, vino a Estados Unidos por una oportunidad mejor sin conocer a nadie ni el…

A grayscale photograph of the Martian surface from the Curiosity rover captures medium gray, very uneven terrain in front of the rover, with many angular, medium-sized rocks protruding from the smooth soil. The scene looks like soup with vegetable chunks floating on the surface, or section of brittle candy with scattered nut pieces fused in place. The bottom of the frame shows part of the rover, running from the middle left to the lower right corner of the image, including part of its robotic arm which carries a nameplate imprinted with “Curiosity” outlined in all capital letters, and to the right of that a line drawing of the rover.

Sols 4325-4326: (Not Quite) Dipping Our Toes in the Sand

3 min read

Earth planning date: Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 If you read this blog very often, you know that nearly every time the rover stops for science, MAHLI and APXS focus on interesting (and accessible!) rocks as targets. The rover science team…

Tech Today: Spraying for Food Safety

2 min read

Whether protecting crops from diseases and pests or sanitizing contaminated surfaces, the ability to spray protective chemicals over important resources is key to several industries. Electrostatic Spraying Systems Inc. (ESS) of Watkinsville, Georgia, manufactures electrostatic sprayers and equipment that make…

40 Years Ago: STS-41G – A Flight of Many Firsts and Records

13 min read

The 13th flight of the space shuttle program and the sixth of Challenger, STS-41G holds many distinctions. As the first mission focused almost entirely on studying the Earth, it deployed a satellite, employed multiple instruments, cameras, and crew observations to…

Artist concept image of an early wet Mars.

NASA: New Insights into How Mars Became Uninhabitable

5 min read

NASA’s Curiosity rover, currently exploring Gale crater on Mars, is providing new details about how the ancient Martian climate went from potentially suitable for life – with evidence for widespread liquid water on the surface – to a surface that…

Two male cadets wearing solar viewing glasses stare with excitement into the distance.

GLOBE Eclipse and Civil Air Patrol: An Astronomical Collaboration

3 min read

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a volunteer organization that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force. The organization has an award-winning aerospace education program that promotes Science, Technology Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM)-related careers and…

Close-up view of Cheyava Falls natural surface on Mars where chunks of olivine (pale green) in the straight veins and leopard spots in the center are seen.

Perseverance Matters

2 min read

It is an important and exciting juncture in Mars exploration and astrobiology. This year, the SHERLOC instrument beat the odds and made one of the most exciting discoveries of the Mars 2020 mission.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES: NASA OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL

1 min read

There are no current openings. Please check back later for opportunities to join our team.

3 teachers at the GMRI summer institute look at a series of NDVI data on small individual maps. One of the teachers is pointing at the small maps, and another had Google Maps open on their nearby computer. In the background, another group of teachers looks at the same data.

Science Activation’s PLACES Team Facilitates Third Professional Learning Institute

5 min read

The NASA Science Activation program’s Place-Based Learning to Advance Connections, Education, and Stewardship (PLACES) project supports middle and high school educators to engage students in data-rich Earth science learning through the integration of NASA data sets, images, classroom lessons, and…