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.

A global map of aerosols showing dust, smoke, and sea salt particles in different colors moving across Earth's atmosphere, from NASA's GEOS-FP computer model.

NASA Data Helps Protect US Embassy Staff from Polluted Air

4 min read

United States embassies and consulates, along with American citizens traveling and living abroad, now have a powerful tool to protect against polluted air, thanks to a collaboration between NASA and the U.S. State Department. Since 2020, ZephAir has provided real-time…

A spiral galaxy, tilted at an angle, with irregularly-shaped arms. It appears large and close-up. The center glows in a yellowish color, while the disk around it is a bluer color, due to light from older and newer stars. Dark reddish threads of dust cover the galaxy, and there are many large, shining pink spots in the disc, where stars are forming.

Hubble Lights the Way with New Multiwavelength Galaxy View

2 min read

The magnificent galaxy featured in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is NGC 1559. It is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Reticulum, approximately 35 million light-years from Earth. The brilliant light captured in the current image offers…

NASA, NAACP Partner to Advance Diversity, Inclusion in STEM Fields

3 min read

During an event Thursday, NASA and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) signed a Space Act Agreement to increase engagement and equity for underrepresented students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and to improve…

55 Years Ago: Celebrations for Apollo 11 Continue as Apollo 12 Prepares to Revisit the Moon

15 min read

In September 1969, celebrations continued to mark the successful first human Moon landing two months earlier, and NASA prepared for the next visit to the Moon. The hometowns of the Apollo 11 astronauts held parades in their honor, the postal…

NASA’s Hidden Figures Honored with Congressional Gold Medals

4 min read

A simple turn of phrase was all it took for U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of Katherine Johnson’s home state of West Virginia to capture the feeling in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. “It’s been said that…

The photo taken by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity captured the image of a large fractured slab of bedrock

Sols 4309–4310: Leaning Back, Driving Back

3 min read

Earth planning date: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024 The lengthy drive planned on Monday executed as expected, and we came in today to find our rover parked at a jaunty angle on a sloped ridge. There were some worries that the…

Illustration of a large planet with a grayish atmosphere partially illuminated by a distant bright star in space, surrounded by a dark sky dotted with small stars.

When Will That Star Dim? Amateur Planet-Chasers Got You!

2 min read

A planet swings in front of its star, dimming the starlight we see. Events like these, called transits, provide us with bounties of information about exoplanets–planets around stars other than the Sun. But predicting when these special events occur can…

Conceptual image of how the Moon casts a shadow on Earth during a total eclipse.

NASA Develops Process to Create Very Accurate Eclipse Maps

3 min read

New NASA research reveals a process to generate extremely accurate eclipse maps, which plot the predicted path of the Moon’s shadow as it crosses the face of Earth. Traditionally, eclipse calculations assume that all observers are at sea level on…

What You Need to Know about NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Mission

5 min read

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are preparing to launch on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. The flight is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station under NASA’s Commercial…

Students Soar at NASA Glenn’s Aviation Day

1 min read

For students considering careers in STEM, the field of aviation offers diverse and abundant opportunities they may never have realized.   During Aviation Day on Aug. 27, NASA Glenn Research Center’s Office of STEM Engagement welcomed middle and high school students…

Ohio State Fairgoers Learn About NASA Technologies

1 min read

NASA Glenn Research Center’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) and Office of Communications staff traveled to the Ohio State Fair in Columbus, Ohio, this summer.   OSTEM participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the fair with Ohio Gov. Mike…

Dr. Kenyon Makes Calls, On and Off the Field

1 min read

As the director of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Dr. Jimmy Kenyon is used to making important decisions at work. He also likes to call the shots on the baseball field as a volunteer umpire.  In July, Kenyon packed…

NASA Glenn Attends Air Shows in Cleveland and Wisconsin

1 min read

The first “A” in NASA stands for aeronautics, and NASA’s Glenn Research Center helped bring that message to thousands of people at major airshows in Wisconsin and Ohio this summer.  In July, NASA Glenn subject matter experts and outreach professionals…

The Marshall Star for September 18, 2024

18 min read

Marshall Welcomes NASA Chief Scientist for Climate, Science Town Hall NASA Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor Kate Calvin, center left, joins team members at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center for a Climate and Science Town Hall on Sept.…

NASA Deputy Administrator Talks Future of Agency in Silicon Valley

1 min read

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy spent time at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, on Sept. 16, 2024, engaging with center leaders and employees to discuss strategies that could drive meaningful changes to ensure NASA remains the preeminent…

Giant Leaps Start at Johnson for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Commander Nick Hague

3 min read

As the hub of human spaceflight, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston holds a variety of unique responsibilities and privileges. Those include being the home of NASA’s astronaut corps. One of those astronauts – Nick Hague – is now preparing…

Rob Gutro: Clear Science in the Forecast

5 min read

Rob Gutro has never been one to stay idle. From his start working at a paper factory as a teenager, Rob navigated his way to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where he serves as the deputy news chief in the…

A pair of interacting galaxies. The larger of the two galaxies is slightly right of center, and composed of a hazy, bright, white center and a ring of gaseous filaments, which are different shades of red and orange. Toward the bottom left and bottom right of the ring are filaments of gas spiraling inward toward the core. At the top left of the ring is a noticeable gap, bordered by two large, orange pockets of dust and gas. The smaller galaxy to its left is made of hazy white gas and dust, which becomes more diffuse farther away from its center. To this galaxy’s bottom left, there is a smaller, more diffuse gas cloud that wafts outward toward the edges. Many red, orange, and white galaxies are spread throughout, with some hazier in composition and others having more defined spiral patterns.

NASA’s Webb Provides Another Look Into Galactic Collisions

4 min read

Smile for the camera! An interaction between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy, collectively known as Arp 107, seems to have given the spiral a happier outlook thanks to the two bright “eyes” and the wide semicircular “smile.” The…

NASA Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson’s Scientific Mission aboard Space Station

4 min read

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson is returning home after a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. While on orbit, Dyson conducted an array of experiments and technology demonstrations that contribute to advancements for humanity on Earth and the agency’s…

Reinventing the Clock: NASA’s New Tech for Space Timekeeping

5 min read

Here on Earth, it might not matter if your wristwatch runs a few seconds slow. But crucial spacecraft functions need accuracy down to one billionth of a second or less. Navigating with GPS, for example, relies on precise timing signals…