Archives
The Earth Observer Index of Previous Issues
Bibliography of Articles with Historical Content Published in “The Earth Observer”
Below is a list of articles published in The Earth Observer that have a significant focus on history. A few of these were written to mark a milestone anniversary for the newsletter itself and reflect on its history—which parallels that of NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) program. Most others were written to commemorate milestone anniversaries for a particular Earth-observing satellite missions, field campaigns, ground-based networks, science teams, or other programs or activities. Several others are more generic summaries of one or more aspects of NASA Earth Science history covered in the context of a symposium or meeting. While not intended to be an exhaustive list, a review of these would give the reader a good overview of the history that was chronicled during The Earth Observer’s nearly 37 years of reporting on NASA Earth Science and is preserved in this archive.
Newsletter Milestones
Ward, Alan: The Earth Observer: 20 Years Chronicling the History of the EOS Program [March–April 2008, 20:2, 4–8]. This article was done for Volume 20—the start of year 20; this article also ended up launching the “Perspectives on EOS” series—see below.
Ward, Alan: The Earth Observer: Twenty-Five Years Telling NASA’s Earth Science Story [March–April 2014, 26:2, 4–13]. This was a classic done for the 25th anniversary of the newsletter.
Ward, Alan: A Trip Through Time via the Archives of The Earth Observer [March–April 2018 25:2, 5–11]. This article jumped to various timestamps and gave a snapshot of what was going on in Earth Science at the time primarily focusing on events recorded in “The Editor’s Corner.”
Ward, Alan: A Thirtieth Anniversary Reflection from the Executive Editor [March–April 2019, 31:2, 4–6]. This is the printed version of the 30th anniversary article; the next entry is the version of the same article we published online.
Ward, Alan: A Thirtieth Anniversary Reflection from the Executive Editor, online version. The Earth Observer, March–April 2019, 31:2 – online version, 1–4. Modified version of the article we printed in the newsletter.
Kish, Stacy and Alan Ward: The Earth Observer: Offering Perspectives from Space through Time, published online Dec. 29, 2025. This is a final article from the publication team reflecting on The Earth Observer’s parallel evolution with NASA’s Earth Observing System. The focus is primarily on its coverage of Earth observing satellite missions over nearly 37 years.
Earth Observing System (EOS) Investigators Working Group (IWG) Meetings
IWG meetings were covered extensively in the early years of The Earth Observer. These were periodic gatherings of EOS investigators that took place as the Earth Observing System (EOS) was ramping up during the late 1980s and 1990s. Reading the minutes, one can get a sense for the development of the various components of EOS, and track the progress of the EOS Flagships (now known as Terra, Aqua, and Aura) and other EOS missions toward launch. The last EOS IWG meeting took place in 2003—as the planned EOS “first series” launches were coming to an end. (NOTE: IWG Meetings (and other EOS IWG-related activities. e.g., Functional, Interdisciplinary, and Disciplinary Panels, and the Science Executive Committee, or SEC) can also be found in “The Editor’s Corner” columns published during this time.)
- The First EOS IWG Meeting took place in March 1989 at Greenbelt, MD (NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, or GSFC) – but it was not sum archived in The Earth Observer.
- Wilson, Stan: Science Focus: New IWG Organization [Nov. 1989, 1:6, 1,3]. This was on front cover and mentions second (held in Pasadena, CA at JPL in October 1989), and upcoming third meeting.
- Greenstone, Reynold “Renny”: Summary of Third EOS IWG Meeting [March 1990, 2:3, 2–4]. Meeting held in Greenbelt, MD.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of Fourth EOS IWG Meeting [Dec. 1990, 2:10, 2–3]. Meeting held in Hampton, VA – at Langley Research Center.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of Fifth EOS IWG Meeting [Sept.–Oct. 1991, 3:6, 8–10]. Meeting held in Seattle, WA.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of Sixth EOS IWG Meeting [July–Aug. 1992, 4:4, 2–3]. Meeting held in Keystone, CO.
- Bandeen, William: Summary of Seventh EOS IWG Meeting [March–April 1993, 6:2, 3–5]. Meeting held in Greenbelt, MD.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of the Eighth EOS IWG Meeting [Jan.–Feb. 1994, 6:1, 3–7]. Meeting held in San Antonio, TX.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of the Ninth EOS IWG Meeting [Sept.–Oct. 1994, 6:5, 4–11]. Meeting held in Hunt Valley, MD.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of the Tenth EOS IWG Meeting [July–Aug. 1995, 7:4, 3–17]. Meeting held in Santa Fe, NM.
- Greenstone, Renny and Bill Bandeen: Summary of the Eleventh EOS IWG Meeting [May–June 1996, 8:3, 3-14]. Meeting held in Greenbelt, MD.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of the Twelfth EOS IWG Meeting [March–April 1997, 9:2, 3–17]. Meeting held in San Diego, CA.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of the Thirteenth EOS IWG Meeting [Nov.–Dec. 1997, 9:6, 3–17]. Meeting held in Atlanta, GA.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of the Fourteenth EOS IWG Meeting[Nov.–Dec. 1998, 10:6, 12–27, 43]. Meeting held in Durham, NH.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of the Fifteenth EOS IWG Meeting [July–Aug. 1999, 11:4, 6–18, 35]. Meeting held in Vail, CO.
- Closs, Jim: Overview of Upcoming EOS IWG Meeting [Jan.–Feb. 2000, 3, 12:1, 6]. Short preview of the upcoming 16th IWG meeting in Tucson, AZ.
- Greenstone, Renny: Summary of the Sixteenth EOS IWG Meeting [March–April 2000, 12:2, 3–11, 20]. Meeting held in Tucson, AZ.
- Closs, Jim: Overview of Upcoming EOS IWG Meeting [Sept.–Oct. 2000, 12:5, 3]. Short preview of the upcoming 17th IWG meeting in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
- Williams, Robin: Summary of the Seventeenth EOS IWG Meeting [Jan.–Feb. 2001, 13:1, 3–9]. Meeting was in Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Ward, Alan: Summary of the Eighteenth EOS IWG Meeting [Nov.–Dec. 2001, 13:6, 3–13]. Meeting held in San Antonio, TX,
- Ward, Alan: Summary of the Nineteenth EOS IWG Meeting [Jan.–Feb. 2003, 15:1, 3–15]. Meeting held in Ellicott City, MD.
“Perspectives on EOS” Series
Assorted authors: Perspectives on EOS. The Earth Observer, Special Edition, 73 pp. This is a link to a compilation of all the articles published in this series that ran in the newsletter from 2008–2011. Each article covers a particular aspect (or aspects) of the early history of EOS from the perspective of someone who lived it. See “Table of Contents” in article for list of specific articles included.
Symposia/Other Meetings
Ward, Alan, Nicole Miklus, and Paula Bontempi: NASA Earth System Science at 20: A Symposium to Explore Accomplishments, Plans, and Challenges [Sept.–Oct. 2009, 21:5, 18–30, 39]. This was a Symposium held to mark 20 years of EOS observations. Note how we did a special “Banner” for this article.
Ward, Alan, Forrest Hall, Robert Murphy, and Piers Sellers: Recollections of FIFE and BOREAS: Historical Perspective and Meeting Summary [Jan.–Feb. 2017, 29:1, 6–23]. Article starts with history leading up to FIFE/BOREAS, then summarizes two-day meeting; the event was also a tribute to the scientific legacy of Piers Sellers – who passed away just a short time after this meeting. An In Memoriam for Piers appears in the same issue of The Earth Observer.
Winker, David and Jennifer Collins: [Summary of the] 2007 Lille A-Train Symposium [March–April 2008, 20:2, 58–59]. This is a brief article about the first A-Train symposium held in Lille, France.
Hobish, Mitch, Lin Chambers, Steve Platnick, Hal Marching, and Chip Trepte: Taking the A-Train… to New Orleans [Jan.–Feb. 2011, 23:1, 12–23]. This article gives background on status of the A-Train constellation (as of 2011) and summarizes the highlights from the second A-Train Symposium held in New Orleans, LA.
Hilsenrath, Ernest and Alan Ward: The Third A-Train Symposium: Summary and Perspectives on a Decade of Constellation-Based Observations [July–Aug. 2017, 29:4, 4–18]. After reviewing development of constellation flying concepts and the status of the satellites that made up the formation, (up to 2017) the article gives a detailed Summary of the scientific topics covered at the Third A-Train Symposium.
Ward, Alan: Symposium on Earth Science and Applications from Space with Special Guest Michael Freilich [March–April 2020, 32:2, 4–18]. Summarizes meeting, which served as a tribute to Michael Freilich’s contributions to Earth Science. Mike passed away in August 2020, and was eulogized the “The Editor’s Corner” two issues later [July–Aug. 2020, 32:4, 1].
Ward, Alan: Earth Science Highlights from the History of NASA and the Environment Symposium [Sept.–Oct. 2023, 35:5, 3–27]. The Unabridged Notes are also available from this meeting, providing details on sections not included in the published summary.
Satellite Missions
Historic Missions
Ward, Alan: The Earth Observing Legacy of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program [Sept.–Oct. 2011, 23:5, 4–17]. Summarizes Earth Science experiments that flew on Shuttle flights. Includes a table of the instruments flown as well as a quote from Jack Kaye [former Assistance Director of Research for NASA’s Earth Science Program].
Ward, Alan and Doug Bennett: Remembering Apollo from an Earthly Point of View: NASA Celebrates Fiftieth Anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing [Sept.–Oct. 2019, 31:5, 16–20]. This was more of a photo essay describing an outreach event. However, since the event was related to a historic NASA mission milestone, I included it here.
Ward, Alan: Nimbus Celebrates 50 Years [March–April 2015, 27:2, 18–31]. Starts with history of Nimbus program, then summarizes event held at GSFC to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Nimbus–1 launch and reflect on the program’s accomplishments.
Hilsenrath, Ernest: The Vanguard of Earth-Observing Satellites [March–April 2019, 31:2, 7–18]. Written to mark the 60th anniversary of Vanguard.
Bennett, Doug, Ginger Butcher, Steve Graham, Jim Irons, and Laura Rocchio: NASA Participates in Pecora 22 Symposium and Celebrates Landsat 50th Anniversary [Nov.–Dec. 2022, 34:6, 4–9]. Summarizes event that included 50th anniversary celebration for the Landsat program.
Smith, Michelle and Alan Ward: Sentinels in the Sky: 50 Years of GOES Satellite Observations, published online Dec.. 22, 2025. Reviews 50 years of GOES. Traces the evolution of technology from GOES-1 to GOES-19.
EOS Flagships (Terra, Aqua, Aura)
Parkinson, Claire: Aqua 10 Years After Launch [Nov.–Dec. 2012, 24:6, 4-17].
Hilsenrath, Ernest: Aura Celebrates Ten Years in Orbit [Nov.–Dec. 2014, 26:6, 4-16].
Owen, Tassia and Mitch Hobish: 15@15: 15 Things Terra has TAug.ht Us in its 15 Years [Jan.–Feb. 2015, 27:1, 4-13].
Graham, Steve and Alan Ward: Aqua’s 20 Years Honored with Celebration at Goddard’s Visitor Center [May–June 2022, 34:3, 4].
Smith, Joseph: Aqua Turns 20 [May–June 2022, 34:3, 5–12]. Aritcle modified from an EarthData News feature article with the same name.
Duncan, Bryan: Aura at 20 Years, published online Sept. 16, 2024.
Kish, Stacy: Terra: The End of an Era, published online Dec. 29, 2025.
Other EOS/Earth Observing Missions
Hobish, Mitch and Alan Ward: Assessing the State of GRACE@10 [March–April 2012, 24:2, 4-13].
Keck, Aries, Laura Betz, Christina Coleman, and Ellen Gray: Suomi NPP: Approaching the One-Year Anniversary of its Launch [Sept.–Oct. 2012, 24:5, 16–23].
Woods, Tom, Gary Rottman, Vanessa George, et al.: The SORCE Mission Celebrates 10 Years [Jan.–Feb. 2013, 25:1, 3-13].
De Charon, Annette and David LeVine: An Update on the Aquarius Mission: Two-and-a-Half Years and Going Strong [Jan.–Feb. 2014, 26:1, 5–11].
Landis, David, Betsy Middleton, Stephen Ungar, Mitch Hobish, et al.: EO-1 15 Years After the Start of Its “One-Year Mission” [Jan.–Feb. 2016, 28:1, 4-14].
Ellis, Todd and Alan Ward: A Useful Pursuit of Shadows: Science Highlights from Ten Years of CloudSat and CALIPSO Observations [July–Aug. 2016, 28:4, 4-12].
Hobish, Mitch, Laura Rocchio, Darrel Williams, and Samuel Goward: The Living Legacy of Landsat 7: Still Going Strong after 20 Years in Orbit [July–Aug. 2019, 31:4, 4-14].
Ruf, Christopher et al.: Eight Microsatellites, One Mission: CYGNSS–Five Years and Counting. The Earth Observer, Jan.–Feb. 2022, 33:1, 5–15.
Portier, Andrea, Sarah Ringerud, and George J. Huffman: GPM Celebrates Ten Years of Observing Precipitation for Science and Society, published online Oct. 3, 2024.
Blackwell, William, Scott Braun, and Stacy Kish: NASA’s TROPICS Mission: Offering Detailed Images and Analysis of Tropical Cyclones, published June 9, 2025.
Hasan, Mejs and Alan Ward: A Tapestry of Tales: 10th Anniversary Reflections from NASA’s OCO-2 Mission, published Aug.12, 2025.
Entekhabi, Dara, Simon Yueh, Rajat Bindish, et al.: A Decade of Global Water Cycle Monitoring: NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission, published Aug. 18, 2025.
Airborne Science
Hilsenrath, Ernest: Flying in the Gap Between Earth and Space: NASA’s Airborne Science Program [Sept.–Oct. 2020, 32:5, 4–14]. Starts with history of NASA’s Airborne Science program and then gives current program overview.
Coleman, Bradley and Alan Ward: The NASA DC-8 Retires: Reflections on its Contributions to Earth System Science, published online May 11, 2025. Presents highlights from “Contributions of the DC-8 to Earth System Science at NASA” – a workshop held in May 2024 at NASA Headquarters to reflect on and celebrate the NASA DC-8’s accomplishments.
Field Campaigns
Marder, Nathan: NASA’S BlueFlux Campaign Supports Blue Carbon Management in South Florida, published online Nov.12, 2024.
GPM Ground Validation Campaign Overviews
The Earth Observer published articles on the first five major ground validation campaigns for GPM. For completeness there is a link to a Summary of the 2016 Precipitation Measurement Mission (PMM) Science Team Meeting, where the sixth campaign – Olympex -- is discussed.
Petersen, Walter, Tristan L’Ecuyer, and Dmitri Moissev: The NASA CloudSat/GPM Light Precipitation Validation Experiment (LPVEx) [July–Aug. 2011, 23:4, 4–8, 21]. This pre-launch GPM field campaign took place in September–October 2010 over the Gulf of Finland.
Petersen, Walter, Gail Skofronick–Jackson, and David Hudak: The NASA-GPM Cold Season Precipitation Experiment (GCPEx) [July–Aug. 2011, 24:6, 26–33].This campaign took place over and near the Ontario, Canada/Great Lakes Environment Canada Centre for Atmospheric Research Experiments (CARE) site from Jan. 17–Feb. 29, 2012.
Petersen, Walter and Michael Jenson: The NASA-GPM and DOE-ARM Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) [Jan.–Feb. 2012, 24:1, 12–18]. Campaign took place in north-central Oklahoma, United States, April 22–June 6, 2012.
Hobish, Mitch, Ellen Gray, and Walter Petersen: A Flood—of Information—Is Needed [Jan.–Feb. 2014, 26:1, 12–18]. This campaign took place in eastern Iowa, May 1–June 15, 2013.
Hobish, Mitch, Ana Baros, Walter Petersen, and Ellen Gray. How’s the Weather Up There? The IPHEx GPM Ground Validation Campaign [March–April 2015, 27:2, 4–13]. This campaign took place May 1–June 15, 2014, in the mountains of central North Carolina.
Kirschbaum, Dalia, Gail Skofronick–Jackson, George Huffman, Walt Petersen, Erich Stocher, and Ramesh Kakar. [Summary of the] 2016 Precipitation Measurement Missions Science Team Meeting [Jan.–Feb. 2017, 29:1, 28–32]. This was the last full-scale, postlaunch and GPM-sponsored field campaign – and one of the most logistically challenging -- conducted over the Olympic Peninsula and adjacent waters from Nov. 1, 2015–Jan. 31, 2016. Walt Petersen discussed Olympex in his presentation during this meeting – see page 30; Walt also reviewed other GPM ground validation campaigns as part of his presentation.
Ground-Based Networks
Jessica Stoller–Conrad: Integrating Carbon from the Ground Up: TCCON Turns 10 [July–Aug. 2014, 26:4, 13–17]. Gives history and accomplishments of NASA’s Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON).
Kurylo, Michael, Anne Thompson, and Martine De Mazière: The Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change: 25 Years Old and Going Strong [Sept.–Oct. 2016, 28:5, 4–15].
Thompson, Anne, Ryan Stauffer, and Debra Kollonige: SHADOZ at 20 Years: Achievements of a Strategic Ozonesonde Network [Sept.–Oct. 2019, 31:5, 4–15]. Article gives history of SHADOZ and summary of the program’s accomplishments over two decades.
Stauffer, Ryan, Anne Thompson, and Debra Kollonige: SHADOZ Ozonesonde Network Celebrates 25 Years and 10,000 Profiles, published online Dec. 10, 2023. Follow-on to the 20th anniversary SHADOZ article cited above with updates on the past five years.
Science Team Meetings
Fetzer, Eric: A Celebration of 20 Years of AIRS History and Observations [Sept.–Oct. 2022, 34:5, 4–11]. Gives history of AIRS Suite (AIRS/AMSU/HSB) and summarizes 2022 AIRS STM – which focused on the achievements of the AIRS suite after over 20 years in orbit on the Aqua platform.
Gutman, Garik, Krishna Vadevru, Meghavi Prashnani, and Chris Justice: NASA’s Land-Cover and Land-Use Change Science Team Celebrates 25 Years [March–April 2023, 35:2,12–24. Gives history of LCLUC Science Team and summarizes 25th LCLUC STM.
Marshak, Alexander and Adam Szabo: Summary of the 10th DSCOVR EPIC and NISTAR Science Team Meeting, published online Feb. 14, 2025. This meeting included a presentation by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who was involved in the early days of the DSCOVR mission – when it was known as Triana.
Miller, Walter and Stacy Kish: The State of CERES: Updates and Highlights, published online Dec. 29, 2025. The final Meeting Summary report posted on The Earth Observer website focuses on the current state of the various CERES instruments.
Other NASA Earth Science Programs/Activities
Earth Science Data Operations (EDOS). Hilsenrath, Ernest: Earth Science Data Operations: Acquiring, Distributing, and Delivering NASA Data for the Benefit of Society [March–April 2017, 29:2, 4–18]. NOTE: Pages 7-8 of this article have a Table listing all 12 NASA DAACs.
Earth Science Mission Operations (ESMO). Hilsenrath, Ernest: Earth Science Mission Operations: Flight Operations—Orchestrating NASA’s Fleet of Earth Observing Satellites [March–April 2016, 28:2, 4–13].
Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP). Mills, Allison and Susan Shingledecker: Earth Science Information Partners Celebrate 25 Years of Collaboration, published online: May 28, 2024.
Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO). Larkin, Philip: NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office Celebrates 25 Years, published online March 5, 2024.
Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Project. Jedlovec, Gary: Transitioning NASA Earth-observing Satellite Data to the Operational Weather Community [May–June 2013, 25:3, 4–11].
Archived Announcements
Summer 2024
Welcome to a new era for The Earth Observer newsletter! Our 35th anniversary also marks the official public release of our new website. Over the past year and a half, The Earth Observer has migrated from a print publication (the last printed issue was November–December 2022) to publishing PDFs online only (final PDF issue published in May 2024) to publishing individual articles on our new site. While this move shifts The Earth Observer’s format to be more in line with that of other online publications, our intent is for the content to remain distinctive. Readers can expect to continue receiving the same quality reporting on NASA Earth Science activities that they have come to depend on from The Earth Observer for over 35 years.