News Articles
Earth, Ice
Sep 7, 2018
One of the key elements of Earth’s climate system is the cryosphere – the many forms of ice found on Earth. Two new NASA missions use different technologies to help scientists better understand how frozen water is affecting our planet. Both will continue satellite data records that have greatly... Read More
Earth
Aug 28, 2018
Michael Freilich, director of the Earth Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate, announced he will retire from the agency in February 2019.
Earth
Aug 27, 2018
Earth recently experienced its largest annual increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels in at least 2,000 years. Data from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), which launched in 2014, are helping scientists understand why.
Earth, Sun, ISS
Aug 16, 2018
The Sun. It inspires songs, warms us, and grows our food. Life on land and in the oceans, the daily weather, and long-term climate patterns happen primarily because of energy we receive from our closest star. Even tiny variations in that energy can affect the workings of our planet’s atmosphere.... Read More
Earth
Jul 20, 2018
Oceans cover over 70% percent of Earth’s surface and profoundly influence our planet’s atmosphere, weather, and climate. However, uncovering the many secrets hidden beneath the ocean’s waves presents unique challenges for researchers, and requires specific technology to observe what humans can’t... Read More
Earth, Climate Change
Jun 29, 2018
NASA's Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) is designed to study how plants respond to heat and water stress by measuring the temperature of Earth's vegetation at all times of day with an accuracy of a few tenths of a degree.
Earth, Climate Change
May 9, 2018
Imagine standing on the roof of a building in Los Angeles and trying to point a laser so accurately that you could hit a particular building in San Diego, more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) away. This accuracy is required for the feat that a novel technology demonstration aboard the soon-to-... Read More
Earth
Apr 20, 2018
This Earth Day, NASA invites you to create your own shareable views of our home planet, help combat mosquito-transmitted diseases, and watch our fleet of Earth-observing spacecraft as they circle the globe.
Earth
Apr 13, 2018
West Nile Virus (WNV) is commonly spread to humans by the bites of Culex sp. mosquitoes. As South Dakota is the U.S. hotspot for WNV, local scientists and public health officials developed a way to use environmental data from NASA satellites to forecast disease risk. These data help inform... Read More
Earth
Apr 12, 2018
Large accumulations of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are toxic and harmful to people and animals. NASA Aqua and Terra satellite data help detect, forecast, and target responses to Harmful Algal Blooms in the Great Lakes and Florida. This information can aid in risk assessment and decision making... Read More
Earth
Apr 11, 2018
River blindness (onchocerciasis) is an affliction caused by a parasitic worm that is transmitted person-to-person by the bites of Simulium sp. black flies. The Carter Center targeted its river blindness eradication efforts in the Americas by using Landsat and Terra satellite data to find previously... Read More
Earth
Apr 11, 2018
Download our new poster to celebrate Earth Day 2018 on April 22. In Carl Sagan's words, "The Earth's surface is the shore of the cosmic ocean."
Earth
Apr 10, 2018
Ozone (O3) in the air we breathe can have detrimental effects on human health and the environment. The U.S. EPA utilized NASA Aura satellite data of North American background ozone levels to guide its updated National Ambient Air Quality Standards. These new standards will enhance public health for... Read More
Earth
Apr 9, 2018
Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted to humans by the bites of Anopheles sp. mosquitoes. In the Peruvian Amazon, scientists are turning to satellite data from Landsat, the Global Precipitation Measurement mission, Terra, and Aqua to develop a system that can forecast malaria... Read More
Earth
Mar 23, 2018
It can happen in a flash — airborne science, that is. Two hundred microseconds, to be exact. With lasers shot from the belly of a King Air B200 aircraft. That’s right, scientists are shooting lasers at atmospheric gases — not to zap them out of existence, but to measure them.
