Science
NASA Measures Moonlight to Improve Earth Observations
NASA Measures Moonlight to Improve Earth Observations NASA recently conducted a series of night flights over its Armstrong Flight Research Center in California to measure the Moon’s reflected sunlight using an airborne instrument called air-LUSI. The air-LUSI mission observed the Moon at different phases and measured the amount of light reflected by the lunar surface, […]
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Linear Sand Dunes in the Great Sandy Desert
Linear Sand Dunes in the Great Sandy Desert The Great Sandy Desert in northwest Australia features linear sand dunes that are approximately 25 meters high and separated by 0.5 to 1.5 kilometers. Astronauts have captured stunning photos of these dunes, including one taken on March 25, 2013, from the International Space Station. The dunes appear […]
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Have We Been to Uranus? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 56
Have We Been to Uranus? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 56 Voyager II spacecraft flew by Uranus in 1986, making it the only time humans have visited the planet. The extreme world revealed by Voyager II has an atmosphere made of methane and hydrogen, with dramatic seasonal variability due to its tilted axis. Uranus’ […]
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Station Nation: Meet Nick Kopp, SpaceX Dragon Flight Lead
Station Nation: Meet Nick Kopp, SpaceX Dragon Flight Lead Nick Kopp is a Dragon flight lead at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, leading the agency’s efforts to prepare, launch, and return cargo missions to the International Space Station. Kopp has been working for NASA for about 15 years, starting at Marshall Space Flight Center […]
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NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Studies Trove of Rocks on Crater Rim
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Studies Trove of Rocks on Crater Rim NASA’s Perseverance rover has been collecting and caching Martian rock samples from the Jezero crater, which will be returned to Earth for further analysis as part of NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program. The rover has discovered a serpentine-rich rock sample called “Tablelands” that contains […]
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NASA Webb’s Autopsy of Planet Swallowed by Star Yields Surprise
NASA Webb’s Autopsy of Planet Swallowed by Star Yields Surprise The James Webb Space Telescope has observed an exoplanet being swallowed by its host star, providing unprecedented insights into this rare event. The telescope detected a hot circumstellar disk of molecular gas around the star, which was not expected to be present in the aftermath […]
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NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Resupply Mission Launches New Research to Station
NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Resupply Mission Launches New Research to Station NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Resupply Mission launches new research to the International Space Station, including experiments on vision-based navigation, spacecraft air quality, and plant growth. The mission includes investigations on robotic spacecraft guidance, smartphone video guidance sensor technology, and aerosol monitors to protect crew health and […]
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Race isn’t a ‘biological reality,’ contrary to recent political claims − here’s how scientific consensus on race developed in the 20th century
Race isn’t a ‘biological reality,’ contrary to recent political claims − here’s how scientific consensus on race developed in the 20th century The concept of “race” as a biological reality is a human invention, not a natural phenomenon. The idea that humans can be divided into fixed groups based on physical characteristics like height or […]
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Fill-in-the-blank training primes AI to interpret health data from smartwatches and fitness trackers
Fill-in-the-blank training primes AI to interpret health data from smartwatches and fitness trackers Researchers are developing new ways to train machine learning algorithms to interpret health data from smartwatches and fitness trackers using a technique called pretraining, which allows them to learn relationships between bio-signals and disorders with fewer labels. The pretraining process involves teaching […]
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Hubble Helps Determine Uranus’ Rotation Rate with Unprecedented Precision
Hubble Helps Determine Uranus’ Rotation Rate with Unprecedented Precision Hubble Space Telescope has made new measurements of Uranus’ interior rotation rate with unprecedented precision, achieving a level of accuracy 1,000 times greater than previous estimates. The team used Hubble’s long-term monitoring of Uranus to analyze more than a decade of observations of the planet’s aurorae, […]
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NASA Science Supports Data Literacy for K-12 Students
NASA Science Supports Data Literacy for K-12 Students NASA supports data literacy for K-12 students through various initiatives, including Science Activation programs and partnerships with educators and researchers. The Data Science Education K-12: Research to Practice Conference was held in February 2025, featuring presentations from NASA’s Science Activation program and other partners on topics such […]
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Mike Drury: A 40-Year Legacy of Precision
Mike Drury: A 40-Year Legacy of Precision Mike Drury has spent over 40 years working at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, starting as a temporary technician and rising to become the deputy integration and testing manager for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Drury credits his training by “old-timers” who taught him how to approach […]
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Welcome to the Mission Support Directorate
Welcome to the Mission Support Directorate Mission Support Directorate (MSD) enables NASA’s missions by planning and executing budgets for safety, security, and mission services. MSD executes strategy and governance to ensure Mission Support is financially sound, aligned with agency goals, and serving NASA’s missions effectively. MSD addresses financial, operational, legal, and reputational risks to ensure […]
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Shark AI uses fossil shark teeth to get middle school kids interested in paleontology and computer vision
Shark AI uses fossil shark teeth to get middle school kids interested in paleontology and computer vision Shark AI is an educational curriculum that uses fossil shark teeth to teach middle school students about paleontology and computer vision, aiming to make AI accessible to all teachers. The curriculum consists of five modules aligned with national […]
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Sols 4505-4506: Up, up and onto the Devil’s Gate
Sols 4505-4506: Up, up and onto the Devil’s Gate The Curiosity rover has completed its drive up the steep side of “Devil’s Gate,” a small butte that forms part of the ridge along the top of a canyon, and is now looking down into the next canyon for the first time. The rover passed a Slip Risk Assessment Process […]
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Welcome to the Mission Support Directorate (MSD)
Welcome to the Mission Support Directorate (MSD) Mission Support Directorate (MSD) plays a crucial role in ensuring NASA’s missions are successful by providing necessary capabilities and services. MSD works closely with various departments, including financial office, engineering authority, and international relations, to plan and execute budgets, design projects, and manage collaborations. Key responsibilities of MSD […]
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Welcome to MSD
Welcome to MSD Mission Support Directorate (MSD) plays a crucial role in ensuring NASA’s missions are successful by providing planning, execution, and governance for mission support budgets. MSD addresses various risks to ensure resilience and mission success, including financial, operational, legal, and reputational risks. The organization works closely with mission directorates and centers to prioritize […]
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Sixty Years in Canberra: NASA’s Deep Space Network
Sixty Years in Canberra: NASA’s Deep Space Network NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) facility in Canberra, Australia is celebrating its 60th anniversary, marking six decades of supporting space exploration. The DSN has been instrumental in communicating with spacecraft, including Voyager 2, which can only receive commands and data via the Canberra complex due to its […]
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Findings from the Field: A Research Symposium for Student Scientists
Findings from the Field: A Research Symposium for Student Scientists The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) launched the Findings from the Field journal in 2017 to give students a platform for authentic scientific inquiry and peer review. The Findings Student Research Symposium was launched in 2022, bringing together nearly 100 young scientists aged 5-12 […]
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Boats can spread termites all over the world
Boats can spread termites all over the world Termites are spreading globally due to human activity, particularly through private boats, which can transport them across continents. The recreational boating industry is likely exacerbating the problem, as boats provide an ideal environment for termites to travel far beyond their native habitats. Invasive termite species like Formosan […]
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Style Guidelines for ‘The Earth Observer’ Newsletter
Style Guidelines for ‘The Earth Observer’ Newsletter Follow the NASA Stylebook and Communications Manual and AP Style Guide when style topics are not explicitly described in this guide. Submit articles as a Word document (.docx) or RTF file, with high-resolution graphics source files of all graphics (e.g. .gif, .tif, .eps). Use the correct formatting for […]
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NASA’s First Flight With Crew Important Step on Long-term Return to the Moon, Missions to Mars
NASA’s First Flight With Crew Important Step on Long-term Return to the Moon, Missions to Mars Artemis II will be NASA’s first mission with crew aboard Orion spacecraft, confirming all systems operate as designed in deep space. The mission will launch a crew of four astronauts from Kennedy Space Center on a Block 1 configuration […]
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NASA’s Deep Space Network Starts New Dish, Marks 60 Years in Australia
NASA’s Deep Space Network Starts New Dish, Marks 60 Years in Australia NASA’s Deep Space Network has celebrated its 60th anniversary in Australia, marking a major milestone for the network, which communicates with spacecraft all over the solar system using giant dish antennas located at three complexes around the globe. The Canberra facility, which joined […]
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Food scrap system pulls drinking water out of thin air
Food scrap system pulls drinking water out of thin air Researchers have created a system that can pull drinkable water out of thin air using discarded food scraps, stray branches, and other natural materials. The system uses molecularly functionalized biomass hydrogels to convert these materials into sorbents, which absorb liquids and can be heated to […]
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Eclipses, Science, NASA Firsts: Heliophysics Big Year Highlights
Eclipses, Science, NASA Firsts: Heliophysics Big Year Highlights The Helio Big Year, a period of heightened solar activity, has come to an end, but NASA scientists will continue studying the Sun’s influence on our planet. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made history by traveling just 3.8 million miles from the Sun’s surface at a speed of […]
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Peru’s ancient irrigation systems succeeded in turning deserts into farms because of the culture − without it, the systems failed
Peru’s ancient irrigation systems succeeded in turning deserts into farms because of the culture − without it, the systems failed The ancient irrigation systems in Peru’s north coast were successful due to the culture and knowledge of the pre-Hispanic societies that built them, which are now being lost as modern climate change and agro-industrial practices […]
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Peru’s ancient irrigation systems turned deserts into farms because of the culture − without it, the systems failed
Peru’s ancient irrigation systems turned deserts into farms because of the culture − without it, the systems failed The ancient irrigation systems in Peru’s north coast turned deserts into farms due to the culture and knowledge of the pre-Hispanic societies, which functioned more efficiently than modern systems. The region’s water shortages have worsened due to […]
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Sols 4502-4504: Sneaking Past Devil’s Gate
Sols 4502-4504: Sneaking Past Devil’s Gate The NASA Mars rover Curiosity has been making progress driving up Mount Sharp, gaining new perspectives on the surrounding terrain. The rover had to navigate around a small ridgeline called “Devil’s Gate” to continue its journey, which presented opportunities for interesting geological observations and imaging. During this period, the […]
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Sols 4500-4501: Bedrock With a Side of Sand
Sols 4500-4501: Bedrock With a Side of Sand The Curiosity rover has reached Sol 4500 on Mars, marking an impressive milestone in its exploration of the Red Planet. The rover’s navigation team successfully passed the “Slip Risk Assessment Process” and began a two-sol plan to characterize bedrock targets using various instruments, including APXS, MAHLI, and […]
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From FIRST Robotics to NASA Rockets: Angel Saenz’s Journey to White Sands
From FIRST Robotics to NASA Rockets: Angel Saenz’s Journey to White Sands Angel Saenz’s journey to working at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility began with his participation in the FIRST Robotics Competition, a STEM education program that helped him develop a passion for engineering. Saenz credits the program for giving him a head start in […]
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