Earth Science
NASA emphasizes importance of Earth science given concerns about budget cuts
NASA used a briefing about the agency’s next Earth science mission to also emphasize the importance of that research in general, given concerns the next administration may seek to slash funding for it.
NASA seeks to purchase Earth science data from smallsats
NASA is planning to purchase tens of millions of dollars of Earth science data from constellations of small satellites in 2017 to determine how well that data can meet its needs.
Satellite Serves a Thirstier World
Water. We are literally made of the stuff. That’s why we can survive for weeks without food but only days without water. We drink it, cook with it, bathe in it, grow food with it, clean with it, swim in it, and use it in almost every kind of…
NASA Reviving Effort To Put Spare Orbiting Carbon Observatory Sensor on ISS
With funding in the 2016 omnibus spending bill approved by House and Senate appropriators, NASA will be able to revive Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3, a dormant effort to measure carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere.
NASA Focused on Sentinel as Replacement for SMAP Radar
NASA scientists are auditioning the radar aboard a European satellite to see how well it stands in for the radar that broke down aboard the U.S. space agency’s newly launched Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite in July.
Satellite Maps Reveal Small Tectonic Plate, Help Answer Big Questions
Using satellite maps, a team of Australian and U.S. researchers has found a small tectonic plate or microplate in the Indian Ocean and used that discovery to settle a long-running debate on the timing of India’s impact with Eurasia.
Lawmakers Signal Willingness To Boost NASA’s Use of Commercial Satellite Imagery
U.S. House lawmakers signaled bipartisan willingness to encourage greater use of commercial satellite imagery at NASA, although exactly which data might be used for what purposes is unclear.
Laying the Groundwork for NASA’s Next Earth Science Roadmap
"We want the best relationship with our environment that we can achieve. That requires understanding," says Waleed Abdalati, the man tapped to co-chair the blue-ribbon panel that will tell NASA and NOAA which Earth science satellites it should launch in the decade ahead.
Letter | NASA Still Pursuing Earth Science Onboard International Space Station
NASA continues to actively solicit ideas for instruments to attach to the ISS exterior for studying Earth.
Scientists Hopeful of Salvaging SMAP Following Loss of Radar
Despite the July failure of the radar on NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, scientists hope to salvage the $1 billion mission by enhancing data from its other sensor and perhaps by coordinating its measurements with those taken by other spacecraft.
Panel Endorses Vegetation Fluorescence Mapper for ESA’s Earth Explorer Program
The Earth Science Advisory Committee recommends the Fluorescence Explorer, or Flex, over CarbonSat to move toward full funding.
In Next Earth Venture Mission, ISS Payloads Need Not Apply
After heavily promoting the International Space Station’s exterior as an Earth observation platform, NASA told aspiring principal investigators to steer clear of the outside of the orbital outpost in the second-ever Earth Venture mission competition that began in early September.
Unnecessary Timeout Pushes Jason-3 Launch to July or August
The Jason-3 satellite will be shipped to Vandenberg June 18, in time for a late-July/early-August launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 following a nine-day delay that turned out to have been unnecessary.
NASA Enlists Satellites To Watch for Harmful Algal Blooms
A harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie last summer left Toledo, Ohio, scrambling for bottled water. Now NASA is leading a 5-year campaign to find out how satellites and smartphones can keep other communities from being blindsided by bad water.
New Earth Science Decadal Survey Faces Complex Challenges
The next decadal survey for space-based Earth science, preparing to get underway this summer, will be challenged to meet wide-ranging science requirements from several agencies and incorporate new technologies while staying within realistic budgets, according to those involved in the study.
Editorial | Bill Would Not Restore Balance to NASA
The misguided NASA authorization bill recently approved by the House Science, Space and Technology Committee is a good illustration of why the space agency will miss Sen. Barbara Mikulski.
Congress Questions Balance of NASA’s Proposed Budget
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden faced strong criticism of his proposed 2016 budget during a pair of congressional hearings in Washington April 16, including questions about the future of the agency’s Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) program.
Five Recent NASA Missions Give Scientists Better Tool Set
SMAP is the most recent of five NASA Earth Science missions launched successfully between February 2014 and January 2015.
After Dodging Bullets in Development, MMS Set for Launch
NASA’s MMS mission is at last preparing for launch aboard its Atlas 5 rocket after a bullet-dodging development cycle complicated by a mass of bad parts, a government shutdown and a last-minute replan of final environment testing because of a double-booked cryogenic chamber.
ESA Approves Biomass Mission Featuring U.S. Antenna Technology
ESA gave final approval for a $500 million mission to measure the biomass and carbon stored in tropical forests using a satellite in low Earth orbit equipped with a novel P-band-frequency sensor that features a 12-meter-diameter deployable antenna.
