Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Time to build zero-debris satellites
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
4 min read
NASA Satellites Reveal Abrupt Drop in Global Freshwater Levels
Earth (ESD) Earth Home Explore Climate Change Science in Action Multimedia Data For Researchers GRACE satellites measure gravity as they orbit the planet to reveal shifting levels of water on the Earth (artist’s concept). NASA/JPL-Caltech An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. Reporting in Surveys in Geophysics, the researchers suggested the shift could indicate Earth’s continents have entered a persistently drier phase.
From 2015 through 2023, satellite measurements showed that the average amount of freshwater stored on land — that includes liquid surface water like lakes and rivers, plus water in aquifers underground — was 290 cubic miles (1,200 cubic km) lower than the average levels from 2002 through 2014, said Matthew Rodell, one of the study authors and a hydrologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “That’s two and a half times the volume of Lake Erie lost.”
During times of drought, along with the modern expansion of irrigated agriculture, farms and cities must rely more heavily on groundwater, which can lead to a cycle of declining underground water supplies: freshwater supplies become depleted, rain and snow fail to replenish them, and more groundwater is pumped. The reduction in available water puts a strain on farmers and communities, potentially leading to famine, conflicts, poverty, and an increased risk of disease when people turn to contaminated water sources, according to a UN report on water stress published in 2024.
The team of researchers identified this abrupt, global decrease in freshwater using observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, operated by the German Aerospace Center, German Research Centre for Geosciences, and NASA. GRACE satellites measure fluctuations in Earth’s gravity on monthly scales that reveal changes in the mass of water on and under the ground. The original GRACE satellites flew from March 2002 to October 2017. The successor GRACE–Follow On (GRACE–FO) satellites launched in May 2018.
This map shows the years that terrestrial water storage hit a 22-year minimum (i.e., the land was driest) at each location, based on data from the GRACE and GRACE/FO satellites. A significantly large portion of the global land surface reached this minimum in the nine years since 2015, which happen to be the nine warmest years in the modern temperature record. Image by NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang with data courtesy of Mary Michael O’Neill The decline in global freshwater reported in the study began with a massive drought in northern and central Brazil, and was followed shortly by a series of major droughts in Australasia, South America, North America, Europe, and Africa. Warmer ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific from late 2014 into 2016, culminating in one of the most significant El Niño events since 1950, led to shifts in atmospheric jet streams that altered weather and rainfall patterns around the world. However, even after El Niño subsided, global freshwater failed to rebound. In fact, Rodell and team report that 13 of the world’s 30 most intense droughts observed by GRACE occurred since January 2015. Rodell and colleagues suspect that global warming might be contributing to the enduring freshwater depletion.
Global warming leads the atmosphere to hold more water vapor, which results in more extreme precipitation, said NASA Goddard meteorologist Michael Bosilovich. While total annual rain and snowfall levels may not change dramatically, long periods between intense precipitation events allow the soil to dry and become more compact. That decreases the amount of water the ground can absorb when it does rain.
“The problem when you have extreme precipitation,” Bosilovich said, “is the water ends up running off,” instead of soaking in and replenishing groundwater stores. Globally, freshwater levels have stayed consistently low since the 2014-2016 El Niño, while more water remains trapped in the atmosphere as water vapor. “Warming temperatures increase both the evaporation of water from the surface to the atmosphere, and the water-holding capacity of the atmosphere, increasing the frequency and intensity of drought conditions,” he noted.
While there are reasons to suspect that the abrupt drop in freshwater is largely due to global warming, it can be difficult to definitively link the two, said Susanna Werth, a hydrologist and remote sensing scientist at Virginia Tech, who was not affiliated with the study. “There are uncertainties in climate predictions,” Werth said. “Measurements and models always come with errors.”
It remains to be seen whether global freshwater will rebound to pre-2015 values, hold steady, or resume its decline. Considering that the nine warmest years in the modern temperature record coincided with the abrupt freshwater decline, Rodell said, “We don’t think this is a coincidence, and it could be a harbinger of what’s to come.”
By James R. Riordon
NASA’s Earth Science News Team
Share
Details
Last Updated Nov 15, 2024 Editor James Riordon Contact James Riordon james.r.riordon@nasa.gov Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Earth Goddard Space Flight Center GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on) Water on Earth Explore More
4 min read NASA Satellites Find Snow Didn’t Offset Southwest US Groundwater Loss
Record snowfall in recent years has not been enough to offset long-term drying conditions and…
Article
5 months ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Earth
Your home. Our Mission. And the one planet that NASA studies more than any other.
Climate Change
NASA is a global leader in studying Earth’s changing climate.
How Earth’s Surface and Interior are Connected to Freshwater Availability
Explore Earth Science
View the full article
-
By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits in its run stall at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, firing up its engine for the first time. These engine-run tests start at low power and allow the X-59 team to verify the aircraft’s systems are working together while powered by its own engine. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land by making sonic booms quieter.NASA/Carla Thomas NASA’s Quesst mission marked a major milestone with the start of tests on the engine that will power the quiet supersonic X-59 experimental aircraft.
These engine-run tests, which began Oct. 30, allow the X-59 team to verify the aircraft’s systems are working together while powered by its own engine. In previous tests, the X-59 used external sources for power. The engine-run tests set the stage for the next phase of the experimental aircraft’s progress toward flight.
The X-59 team is conducting the engine-run tests in phases. In this first phase, the engine rotated at a relatively low speed without ignition to check for leaks and ensure all systems are communicating properly. The team then fueled the aircraft and began testing the engine at low power, with the goal of verifying that it and other aircraft systems operate without anomalies or leaks while on engine power.
Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Canin sits in the cockpit of NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft in a run stall at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California prior to its first engine run. These engine-run tests featured the X-59 powered by its own engine, whereas in previous tests, the aircraft depended on external sources for power. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land by making sonic booms quieter.NASA/Carla Thomas “The first phase of the engine tests was really a warmup to make sure that everything looked good prior to running the engine,” said Jay Brandon, NASA’s X-59 chief engineer. “Then we moved to the actual first engine start. That took the engine out of the preservation mode that it had been in since installation on the aircraft. It was the first check to see that it was operating properly and that all the systems it impacted – hydraulics, electrical system, environmental control systems, etc. – seemed to be working.”
The X-59 will generate a quieter thump rather than a loud boom while flying faster than the speed of sound. The aircraft is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which will gather data on how people perceive these thumps, providing regulators with information that could help lift current bans on commercial supersonic flight over land.
The engine, a modified F414-GE-100, packs 22,000 pounds of thrust, which will enable the X-59 to achieve the desired cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet. It sits in a nontraditional spot – atop the aircraft — to aid in making the X-59 quieter.
Engine runs are part of a series of integrated ground tests needed to ensure safe flight and successful achievement of mission goals. Because of the challenges involved with reaching this critical phase of testing, the X-59’s first flight is now expected in early 2025. The team will continue progressing through critical ground tests and address any technical issues discovered with this one-of-a-kind, experimental aircraft. The X-59 team will have a more specific first flight date as these tests are successfully completed.
The testing is taking place at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. During later phases, the team will test the aircraft at high power with rapid throttle changes, followed by simulating the conditions of an actual flight.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits in its run stall at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, prior to its first engine run. Engine runs are part of a series of integrated ground tests needed to ensure safe flight and successful achievement of mission goals. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which seeks to solve one of the major barriers to supersonic flight over land by making sonic booms quieter.NASA/Carla Thomas “The success of these runs will be the start of the culmination of the last eight years of my career,” said Paul Dees, NASA’s deputy propulsion lead for the X-59. “This isn’t the end of the excitement but a small steppingstone to the beginning. It’s like the first note of a symphony, where years of teamwork behind the scenes are now being put to the test to prove our efforts have been effective, and the notes will continue to play a harmonious song to flight.”
After the engine runs, the X-59 team will move to aluminum bird testing, where data will be fed to the aircraft under both normal and failure conditions. The team will then proceed with a series of taxi tests, where the aircraft will be put in motion on the ground. These tests will be followed by final preparations for first flight.
Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More
1 min read NASA Awards Contract for Refuse and Recycling Services
Article 5 days ago 5 min read We Are All Made of Cells: Space and the Immune System
Article 6 days ago 2 min read NASA Brings Drone and Space Rover to Air Show
Article 7 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Missions
Humans In Space
Quesst: The Vehicle
Explore NASA’s History
Share
Details
Last Updated Nov 06, 2024 EditorLillian GipsonContactMatt Kamletmatthew.r.kamlet@nasa.gov Related Terms
Aeronautics Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Ames Research Center Armstrong Flight Research Center Glenn Research Center Langley Research Center Low Boom Flight Demonstrator Quesst (X-59) Quesst: The Vehicle Supersonic Flight View the full article
-
By European Space Agency
Torrential rainfall causing deadly flash floods has hit southern and eastern Spain in regions including the Costa del Sol, where the city of Malaga is located, and Valencia in the east. As these areas struggle to cope with the aftermath, satellite technology has played a crucial role in assessing the damages of the affected areas.
View the full article
-
By NASA
Learn Home Professional Learning: Using… For Professionals Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 3 min read
Professional Learning: Using Children’s Books to Build STEM Habits of Mind
On October 14, 2024, the Science Activation program’s NASA eClipsTM Education team from the National Institute of Aerospace’s Center for Integrative Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) Education (NIA-CISE) delivered a professional development session entitled “Using Children’s Books to Build STEM Habits of Mind” to 62 Media Specialists and Gifted Teachers from Richmond Public Schools in Virginia.
The session kicked off with an engaging overview of NASA’s methods for gathering Earth data, including the use of stratospheric balloons. Participants then took part in the Balloon Aerodynamics Challenge 1 & 2. Divided into small groups, the teachers assumed the role of “stratospheric balloon engineers” and were tasked with adjusting helium-filled balloons to achieve neutral buoyancy. Initially, teams analyzed qualitative and quantitative aspects of their balloons before exploring the materials available to help them reach the target height. Once they achieved neutral buoyancy, their next challenge was to guide their balloons around the room using only a straw and a 5×7-inch card. As they completed this task, participants linked the activity to Bernoulli’s Principle and Newton’s Laws of Motion.
Following the activity, teachers were introduced to NASA eClips’ newly released Guide Lites: Comparing Science and Engineering Practices Using Black Box Models. During this segment, they discussed the distinction between engineering and science, reflecting on the engineering practices applied in the Balloon Aerodynamics Challenge and how scientific concepts influenced their balloon modifications.
Additionally, teachers explored Favorite STEM Books and Activities: A Literary Collection Curated by the NASA eClips Team and Advisory Board Members, a resource designed to integrate children’s literature with STEM learning. Participants reviewed at least two book entries from the collection, assessing their alignment with educational standards, evaluating associated activities, and offering feedback on strengths and suggested improvements. As a final activity, teams selected a STEM trade book from the curated collection and analyzed it for potential cross-disciplinary connections, including inquiry, engineering, or hands-on activities.
The event was planned collaboratively with Judy Deichman (Coordinator of Library Services for Richmond Public Schools), Lynn Pleveich (Coordinator for Programs for the Gifted and Talented in Richmond Public Schools), Dr. Sharon Bowers and Joan Harper-Neely (NASA eClips Senior STEM Specialists), and Betsy McAllister (NIA’s Educator in Residence from Hampton City Schools).
NASA eClips is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB91A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn
Teacher teams discussed the alignment of STEM books to educational standards and provided feedback for the new activity, Favorite STEM Books and Activities: A Literary Collection Curated by the NASA eClips Team and Advisory Board Members.
Share
Details
Last Updated Nov 04, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms
For Professionals Opportunities For Educators to Get Involved Science Activation Explore More
2 min read Watch How Students Help NASA Grow Plants in Space: Growing Beyond Earth
Article
7 days ago
3 min read Kites in the Classroom: Training Teachers to Conduct Remote Sensing Missions
Article
1 week ago
2 min read Educator Night at the Museum of the North: Activating Science in Fairbanks Classrooms
Article
2 weeks ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
James Webb Space Telescope
Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…
Perseverance Rover
This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial…
Parker Solar Probe
On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona…
Juno
NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to…
View the full article
-
By NASA
As NASA continues to innovate for the benefit of humanity, agency inventions that use new structures to harness sunlight for space travel, enable communications with spacecraft at record-breaking distances, and determine the habitability of a moon of Jupiter, were named Wednesday among TIME’s Inventions of 2024.
“The NASA workforce — wizards, as I call them — have been at the forefront of invention and technology for more than 65 years,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “From developing Europa Clipper, the largest satellite for a planetary mission that NASA has ever launched, to the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, and communicating with lasers from deep space, NASA is improving our understanding of life on Earth — and the cosmos — for the benefit of all.”
Solar Sailing with Composite Booms
Mario Perez, back, holds a deployable solar panel as Craig Turczynski, left, secures it to the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) spacecraft in the Integration Facility of NASA Ames Research Center.Credit: NASA/Don Richey NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is testing technologies that could allow spacecraft to “sail on sunlight,” using the Sun’s rays for propulsion. Like a sailboat turning to catch the wind, a solar sail adjusts its trajectory by angling its sail supported by booms deployed from the spacecraft. This demonstration uses a composite boom technology that is stiffer, lighter, and more stable in challenging thermal environments than previous designs. After launching on April 23, aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, the mission team met its primary objective by deploying the boom and sail system in space in August. Next, they will work to prove performance by using the sail to maneuver in orbit.
Results from this mission could provide an alternative to chemical and electric propulsion systems and inform the design of future larger-scale missions that require unique vantage points, such as space weather early warning satellites.
Communicating with Lasers from Deep Space
The Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration’s flight laser transceiver is seen attached to NASA’s Psyche spacecraft inside a clean room at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. DSOC’s tube-like gray/silver sunshade can be seen protruding from the side of the spacecraft. The bulge to which the sunshade is attached is DSOC’s transceiver, which consists of a near-infrared laser transmitter to send high-rate data to Earth and a sensitive photon-counting camera to receive ground-transmitted low-rate data.Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech Since launching aboard NASA’s Psyche spacecraft on Oct. 13, 2023, a Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration has delivered record-breaking downlink data rates to ground stations as the Psyche spacecraft travels through deep space. To demonstrate the high data rates that are possible with laser communications, photos, telemetry data from the spacecraft, and ultra-high-definition video, including a streamed video of Taters the cat chasing a laser pointer, have been downlinked over hundreds of millions of miles. The mission, which is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, has also sent and received optical communications out to Mars’ farthest distance from Earth, fulfilling one of the project’s primary goals.
Searching for Life’s Ingredients at Jupiter’s Icy Moon Europa
Technicians prepare to encapsulate NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy payload fairing in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 2, 2024. Credit: SpaceX The largest NASA spacecraft ever built for a mission headed to another planet, Europa Clipper also is the agency’s first mission dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth. Using a suite of nine science instruments and a gravity experiment, the mission seeks to determine whether Jupiter’s moon, Europa, has conditions that could support life. There’s strong evidence that under Europa’s ice lies an enormous, salty ocean. Scientists also have found evidence that Europa may host organic compounds and energy sources under its surface. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the spacecraft launched on Oct. 14, and will begin orbiting Jupiter in 2030, flying by the icy moon 49 times to learn more about it.
Europa Clipper’s main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The detailed exploration will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley manages the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, designed and built the deployable composite booms and solar sail system. Within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), the Small Spacecraft Technology program funds and manages the mission and the Game Changing Development program developed the deployable composite boom technology.
The Deep Space Optical Communications experiment is funded by STMD’s Technology Demonstration Missions Program managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the agency’s Space Communications and Navigation program within the Space Operations Mission Directorate. Some of the technology was developed through NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program.
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The Applied Physics Laboratory designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as well as NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA Marshall, and NASA Langley.
For more information about the agency’s missions, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
Share
Details
Last Updated Oct 30, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
General Ames Research Center Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) Europa Clipper Game Changing Development Program Goddard Space Flight Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory Langley Research Center Marshall Space Flight Center Science & Research Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Small Spacecraft Technology Program Space Communications & Navigation Program Space Operations Mission Directorate Space Technology Mission Directorate Technology Technology Demonstration Technology Demonstration Missions Program View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.