Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
NASA’s Earth-observing fleet of satellites provides a worldwide and unbiased view with standardized scientific data—information crucial for tracking the health of the world’s forests. Countries like Brazil are using data from NASA satellites to track and measure their forests in advance of a United Nations effort to reduce climate change by providing “carbon credits” for
Thursday, June 14th, 2012
It’s been a busy first year in space for Aquarius, NASA’s pioneering instrument to measure ocean surface salinity from orbit. Designed to advance our understanding of what changes in the saltiness of the ocean’s top layer say about the water cycle and variations in climate, Aquarius took only two and a half months after its
Thursday, May 24th, 2012
To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the United States’ Landsat Earth-observing program — which first rocketed into space on July 23, 1972 — NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey are giving something special to a few members of the American public. We will create customized Landsat chronicles of changing local landscapes for six U.S. citizens
Sunday, May 13th, 2012
Its construction now complete, the science instrument that is the heart of NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) spacecraft — NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide — has left its nest at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and has arrived at its integration and test site in Gilbert, Ariz.
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
A Texas region containing four of the world’s largest wind farms showed an increase in land surface temperature over nine years that researchers have connected to local meteorological effects of the turbines. The land surface temperature around the west-central Texas wind farms warmed at a rate of .72 degrees Celsius per decade during the study
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
The space-based technology that lets GPS-equipped motorists constantly update their precise location will undergo a major test of its ability to rapidly pinpoint the location and magnitude of strong earthquakes across the western United States. Results from the new Real-time Earthquake Analysis for Disaster (READI) Mitigation Network soon could be used to assist prompt disaster
Thursday, March 8th, 2012
NASA has completed commissioning of the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite (NPP), which is now making global environmental observations. The satellite will provide scientists with critical insight into the dynamics of the entire Earth system, including climate, clouds, oceans, and vegetation. It will also gather enhanced data for improving our nation’s weather forecasting system.
Sunday, February 19th, 2012
A NASA-led science team has created an accurate, high-resolution map of the height of Earth’s forests. The map will help scientists better understand the role forests play in climate change and how their heights influence wildlife habitats within them, while also helping them quantify the carbon stored in Earth’s vegetation.
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
A new NASA satellite instrument that makes a quantum leap forward in detector technology has arrived at Orbital Sciences Corp. in Gilbert, Ariz. There it will be integrated into the next Landsat satellite, the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM).
Sunday, January 29th, 2012
Two years ago, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO, released a study claiming that inconsistencies between satellite observations of Earth’s heat and measurements of ocean heating amounted to evidence of “missing energy” in the planet’s system. Where was it going? Or, they wondered, was something wrong with the way researchers
