Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
-
Similar Topics
-
By European Space Agency
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission shows us what is left of the Aral Sea, once the fourth largest lake in the world. View the full article
-
By European Space Agency
Image: This image shows Webb’s recent observation of the asteroid 2024 YR4 using both its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Data from NIRCam shows reflected light, while the MIRI observations show thermal light.
On 8 March 2025, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope turned its watchful eye toward asteroid 2024 YR4, which we now know poses no significant threat to Earth in 2032 and beyond.
This is the smallest object targeted by Webb to date, and one of the smallest objects to have its size directly measured.
Observations were taken to study the thermal properties of 2024 YR4, including how quickly it heats up and cools down and how hot it is at its current distance from the Sun. These measurements indicate that this asteroid does not share properties observed in larger asteroids. This is likely a combination of its fast spin and lack of fine-grained sand on its surface. Further research is needed, however this is considered consistent with a surface dominated by rocks that are roughly fist-sized or larger.
Asteroid 2024 YR4 was recently under close watch by the team at ESA's Near Earth Objects Coordination Centre, located in Italy. Planetary defence experts from the Agency's Space Safety programme worked with NASA and the international asteroid community to closely watch this object and refine its orbit, which was eventually determined to not pose a risk of Earth impact. Read details on this unusual campaign via ESA's Rocket Science blog and in news articles here and here.
Webb’s observations indicate that the asteroid measures roughly 60 meters (comparable to the height of a 15-story building).
The new observations from Webb not only provide unique information about 2024 YR4’s size, but can also complement ground-based observations of the object's position to help improve our understanding of the object’s orbit and future trajectory.
Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process.
[Image description: A collage of three images showing the black expanse of space. Two-thirds of the collage is taken up by the black background sprinkled with small, blurry galaxies in orange, blue, and white. There are two images in a column at the right side of the collage. On the right side of the main image, not far from the top, a very faint dot is outlined with a white square. At the right, there are two zoomed in views of this area. The top box is labeled NIRCam and shows a fuzzy dot at the center of the inset. The bottom box is labeled MIRI and shows a fuzzy pinkish dot.]
View the full article
-
By European Space Agency
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the striking landscape surrounding the Waza National Park in Cameroon. View the full article
-
By NASA
The innovative team of engineers and scientists from NASA, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, and more than 40 other partner organizations across the country that created the Parker Solar Probe mission has been awarded the 2024 Robert J. Collier Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA). This annual award recognizes the most exceptional achievement in aeronautics and astronautics in America with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles in the previous year.
“Congratulations to the entire Parker Solar Probe team for this well-earned recognition,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. “This mission’s trailblazing research is rewriting the textbooks on solar science by going to a place no human-made object has ever been and advancing NASA’s efforts to better understand our solar system and the Sun’s influence, with lasting benefits for us all. As the first to touch the Sun and fastest human-made object ever built, Parker Solar Probe is a testament to human ingenuity and discovery.”
An artist’s concept of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. NASA On Dec. 24, 2024, Parker Solar Probe made its closest approach to the Sun, passing deep within the Sun’s corona, just 3.8 million miles above the Sun’s surface and at a top speed of close to 430,000 mph, ushering in a new era of scientific discovery and space exploration.
“This award is a recognition of the unrelenting dedication and hard work of the Parker Solar Probe team. I am so proud of this team and honored to have been a part of it,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By studying the Sun closer than ever before, we continue to advance our understanding of not only our closest star, but also stars across our universe. Parker Solar Probe’s historic close approaches to the Sun are a testament to the incredible engineering that made this record-breaking journey possible.”
Three novel aerospace technology advancements were critical to enabling this record performance: The first is the Thermal Protection System, or heat shield, that protects the spacecraft and is built to withstand brutal temperatures as high as 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The Thermal Protection System allows Parker’s electronics and instruments to operate close to room temperature.
Additional Parker innovations included first-of-their-kind actively cooled solar arrays that protect themselves from overexposure to intense solar energy while powering the spacecraft, and a fully autonomous spacecraft system that can manage its own flight behavior, orientation, and configuration for months at a time. Parker has relied upon all of these vital technologies every day since its launch almost seven years ago, in August 2018.
“I am thrilled for the Parker Solar Probe team on receiving this well-deserved award,” said Joe Westlake, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. “The new information about the Sun made available through this mission will improve our ability to prepare for space weather events across the solar system, as well as better understand the very star that makes life possible for us on Earth.”
Parker’s close-up observations of solar events, such as coronal mass ejections and solar particle events, are critical to advancing our understanding of the science of our Sun and the phenomena that drive high-energy space weather events that pose risks to satellites, air travel, astronauts, and even power grids on Earth. Understanding the fundamental physics behind events which drive space weather will enable more reliable predictions and lower astronaut exposure to hazardous radiation during future deep space missions to the Moon and Mars.
“This amazing team brought to life an incredibly difficult space science mission that had been studied, and determined to be impossible, for more than 60 years. They did so by solving numerous long-standing technology challenges and dramatically advancing our nation’s spaceflight capabilities,” said APL Director Ralph Semmel. “The Collier Trophy is well-earned recognition for this phenomenal group of innovators from NASA, APL, and our industry and research partners from across the nation.”
First awarded in 1911, the Robert J. Collier Trophy winner is selected by a group of aviation leaders chosen by the NAA. The Collier Trophy is housed in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
“Traveling three times closer to the Sun and seven times faster than any spacecraft before, Parker’s technology innovations enabled humanity to reach inside the Sun’s atmosphere for the first time,” said Bobby Braun, head of APL’s Space Exploration Sector. “We are all immensely proud that the Parker Solar Probe team will join a long legacy of prestigious aerospace endeavors that redefined technology and changed history.”
“The Parker Solar Probe team’s achievement in earning the 2024 Collier is a shining example of determination, genius, and teamwork,” said NAA President and CEO Amy Spowart. “It’s a distinct honor for the NAA to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable team that turned the impossible into reality.”
Parker Solar Probe was developed as part of NASA’s Living With a Star program to explore aspects of the Sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. The Living With a Star program is managed by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Applied Physics Laboratory designed, built, and operates the spacecraft and manages the mission for NASA.
By Geoff Brown
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Share
Details
Last Updated Mar 25, 2025 Editor Sarah Frazier Contact Abbey Interrante abbey.a.interrante@nasa.gov Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Heliophysics Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Division Parker Solar Probe (PSP) The Sun Explore More
5 min read NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Makes History With Closest Pass to Sun
Article
3 months ago
4 min read Final Venus Flyby for NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Queues Closest Sun Pass
Article
5 months ago
11 min read NASA Enters the Solar Atmosphere for the First Time, Bringing New Discoveries
A major milestone and new results from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe were announced on Dec.…
Article
3 years ago
View the full article
-
By NASA
Explore This Section Earth Home Earth Observer Home Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam More Archives 11 min read
The Earth Observer Editor’s Corner: January–March 2025
NASA’s Earth Observing fleet continues to age gracefully. While several new missions have joined the fleet in the past year, scientists and engineers work to extend the life of existing missions and maximize their science along the way. The crowning example is the first Earth Observing System (EOS) Flagship mission, Terra, which celebrated a quarter-century in orbit on December 18, 2024.
Terra, continues to collect daily morning Earth observations using five different instruments: Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES), Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT). Collectively, these observations have established a robust satellite record of global scientific processes to track changes in temperature, glaciers, clouds, vegetation, land-use, air quality, and natural hazards such as hurricanes, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions.
Originally designed for a six-year prime mission, Terra continues to deliver data used by emergency managers, researchers, and modelers over a quarter-of-a-century later. On December 18th, 2024, NASA celebrated the 25th anniversary of Terra’s launch with a celebration at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Visitor’s Center. NASA Senior management [from NASA Headquarters and GSFC] as well as other key figures from Terra’s long history gave brief remarks and perspectives on Terra’s development and achievements. To read a review of the celebration, see “Celebrating 25 Years of Terra.”
Terra-related sessions (poster and oral) during the Fall American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting were well-attended. The Terra team took advantage of the meeting to have a celebratory anniversary dinner that included attendees representing each of the five instruments.
Another mission to recently reach a longevity milestone is NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), which celebrated 10 years in space last summer. OCO-2, which launched on July 2, 2014, from the Vandenburg Air Force (now Space Force) Base in California, was originally designed as a pathfinder mission to measure carbon dioxide (CO2) with the precision and accuracy needed to quantify where, when, and how the Earth inhales and exhales this important greenhouse gas seasonally. OCO-2 was part of the international Afternoon Constellation, or “A-Train,” which also included Aqua, Aura, CloudSat, and CALIPSO, as well as international partner missions.
Since its launch, OCO-2 data have revealed unprecedented insights into how the carbon cycle operates – from observing the impact and recovery of tropical land and ocean ecosystems during El Niño events to revealing the outsized impacts of extreme events, such as floods, droughts, and fires on ecosystem health and functioning. Researchers from around the world use OCO-2 data, opening new opportunities for understanding the response of the carbon cycle to human-driven perturbations, such as the impact of COVID lockdowns on atmospheric CO2 and improved quantification of emissions from large power plants and cities.
OCO-2 also maps vegetation fluorescence, which shows promise as a reliable early warning indicator of flash drought. During photosynthesis, plants “leak” unused photons, producing a faint glow known as solar-induced fluorescence (SIF). The stronger the fluorescence, the more CO2 a plant is taking from the atmosphere to power its growth. Ancillary SIF measurements from OCO-2 will help scientists better predict flash droughts, and understand how these impact carbon emissions.
Ten years into the mission, OCO-2 has become the gold standard for CO2 measurements from space. The spacecraft and instrument continue to perform nominally, producing data leading to new scientific discoveries.
OCO–3, built from spare parts during the build of OCO-2 and launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019, also celebrated a milestone, marking five years in orbit on May 4, 2024. While the follow-on has the same instrument sensitivity and makes essentially the same measurements as OCO-2, the vantage point on the ISS as opposed to OCO-2’s polar orbit and the use of a new pointing mirror assembly (PMA) results in significant day-to-day spatial and temporal sampling differences that allows CO2 tracking for diurnal variability. In addition, the flexible PMA system allows for a much more dynamic observation-mode schedule.
Further out in space, about 1 million mi (~1.1 million km) from Earth, orbiting the “L1” Lagrange point between Earth and Sun, the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) celebrated the 10th anniversary of its launch on February 11, 2025. The two NASA Earth observing instruments on DSCOVR are the Earth Polychromatic Camera (EPIC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Radiometer [NISTAR].
The 10th DSCOVR EPIC NISTAR Science Team Meeting was held October 16–18, 2024 at Goddard Space Flight Center. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore opened the meeting with remarks that focused on remote sensing and the future of Earth observations. Following Gore’s remarks, DSCOVR mission leadership and representatives from GSFC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gave presentations on DSCOVR operations, EPIC calibration, and NISTAR Status and Science.
The meeting provided an opportunity for participants to learn the status of DSCOVR’s Earth-observing instruments, the status of recently released Level-2 (geophysical) data products, and the resulting science. As more people use DSCOVR data worldwide, the science team hopes to hear from users and team members at its next meeting. The latest updates from the mission can be found on the EPIC website. For more details, see the Summary of the 10th DSCOVR EPIC and NISTAR Science Team Meeting.
Flying in the space between satellites and ground-based observations, NASA’s Airborne Science Program operates a fleet of aircraft, unpiloted aerial vehicles, and even kites to study Earth and space science. Since 1987, a highly modified McDonnell Douglas DC-8 aircraft has been a mainstay of ASP’s fleet – see Photo 1. The aircraft, located at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) in California, flew countless missions as a science laboratory, producing science data for the national and global scientific communities. NASA decided to retire the venerable DC-8 aircraft, which made its last science flight in April 2024. The DC-8 is being replaced with a similarly refurbished Boeing 777 aircraft, which will be even more capable than the DC-8 and is located at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC).
The NASA History Office and NASA Earth Science Division cohosted a workshop, titled “Contributions of the DC-8 to Earth System Science at NASA,” on October 24–25, 2024 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters (HQ) Building in Washington, DC – for more details on the DC-8 event, see the article The NASA DC-8 Retires: Reflections on its Contributions to Earth System Science.
Photo 1. NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory flew Earth science missions from 1987 to 2024. Expert maintenance allowed the aircraft to conduct research on six continents and study ice fields on the seventh, Antarctica. Image Credit: Lori Losey/NASA There are also updates from three recent NASA field campaigns – where ground observations are timed and coordinated with aircraft flights (often at more than one altitude) and with satellite overpasses to gain a comprehensive (i.e., multilayered, multiscale) picture of the atmosphere over a certain area.
The Westcoast & Heartland Hyperspectral Microwave Sensor Intensive Experiment (WHyMSIE) campaign was held from October 17- November 18, 2024. Serving as a future NASA planetary boundary-layer (PBL) mission prototype, WHyMSIE aimed to capture a wide variety of thermodynamic, moisture, and PBL regimes across a variety of surface types. WHyMSIE was an initial step towards an integrated and affordable PBL observing system of systems, with multiple observing nodes – i.e., space, suborbital, and ground – from passive and active sensors to enable a comprehensive and coherent picture of essential PBL variables and hydrometeors that is not possible with any single sensor, observational approach, or scale. As a partnership between NASA and NOAA, this field campaign flew a first-of-its-kind hyperspectral microwave airborne measurements (CoSMIR-H) that was complemented by other passive (thermal emission, solar reflectance) and active (lidar, radar) sensors flying onboard the NASA ER-2 (AFRC) and G-III (LaRC), with coordination over a variety of ground-based sensor facilities.
The GSFC Lidar Observation and Validation Experiment (GLOVE) was conducted in February 2025 at Edwards Air Force Base, California – see photo 2. GLOVE flew the Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL), Roscoe lidar, enhanced MODIS Airborne Simulator (eMAS) imaging scanner, and Cloud Radar System (CRS) on the ER-2 to validate NASA ICESat-2 atmospheric data products and validate ESA’s recently launched EarthCARE lidar, radar, and spectrometer products.
NASA’s Earth Science Division FireSense project focuses on delivering NASA’s unique Earth science and technological capabilities to operational agencies, striving to address challenges in US wildland fire management. Together with agency, academic, and private partners, FireSense completed an airborne campaign in a wildfire smoke-impacted airshed in Missoula, MT on August 27–29, 2024. During the three-day campaign, a NASA Uninhabited Aerial System (UAS) team conducted eight data-collection flights, partnering these launches with weather balloon launches.
FireSense uses airborne campaigns to evaluate capabilities and technologies to support decision making in wildland fire management and air quality forecasting. Targeted data collection produces better forecasts and more successful technology transfer to wildland fire operations. In the future, the FireSense Program will coordinate two airborne campaigns for spring 2025 at Geneva State Forest, Alabama and Kennedy Space Center located within Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida. Both 2025 campaigns will incorporate data collection before, during, and after prescribed fire operations. Beyond NASA, the campaign works in close partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, National Weather Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Defense, as well as partners in academia and the private sector. For more information on FireSense’s most recent campaign in Montana see the Editor’s Corner supplemental summary of “The FireSense Project.”
Photo 2. NASA personnel stand in front of theNASA ER-2 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, during the GSFC Lidar Observation and Validation Experiment (GLOVE) in February 2025. Image credit: John Yorks/NASA Congratulations to Jack Kaye, Associate Director for research with the Earth Science Division within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, who has received the William T. Pecora Award for his vision and creative leadership in multidisciplinary Earth science research, as well as spurring advancements in the investigator community, supporting development of sensors, and shaping NASA satellite and aircraft missions and research programs at the highest levels. To read more about this accomplishment, see “Kaye Honored with Pecora Award.”
On the outreach front, AGU returned to Washington, DC, for its annual meeting from December 9–14, 2024. NASA continued to uphold its long-standing tradition as an AGU partner and exhibitor, leveraging the meeting as an opportunity to share the agency’s cutting-edge research, data, and technology with the largest collection of Earth and planetary science professionals in the world. Many of the estimated 25,000 students, scientists, and industry personnel who attended the conference visited the NASA Science exhibit, interacting with NASA subject matter experts and listening to Hyperwall presentations throughout the week.
As the final event in a busy calendar of annual scientific conferences, AGU is often an opportunity for NASA scientists to publish findings from the previous year and set goals for the year ahead. The agency’s robust portfolio of missions and programs will continue to set new records, such as NASA’s Parker Solar Probe pass of the Sun, and conduct fundamental research in Earth and space science. To read more about AGU 2024, see the article: AGU 2024: NASA Science on Display in the Nation’s Capital.
Ending on a somber note, we recently posted three notable obituaries. Each of these individuals made significant contributions to EOS history, which are highlighted in the In Memoriam articles linked below.
Jeff Dozier, an environmental scientist, snow hydrologist, researcher, academic, and former EOS Project Scientist, died on November 17, 2024. Jeff embraced remote sensing with satellites to measure snow properties and energy balance. As a Project Scientist with the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), he contributed to the design and management of very large information systems that would impact spatial modeling and environmental informatics.
Berrien Moore, Dean of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma (OU), died on December 17, 2024. Berrien served in several roles with NASA, including as a committee member and later chair of the organization’s Space and Earth Science Advisory Committee, Chair of the Earth Observing System Payload Advisory Committee, member and Chair of NASA’s Earth Science and Applications Committee, and member of the NASA Advisory Council. Berrien received NASA’s highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Medal, for outstanding service and the NOAA Administrator’s Recognition Award.
Pierre Morel, the first director of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and founding member of WCRP’s Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) Core project, died on December 10, 2024. Pierre’s work played an integral role in the development of tools used to study the atmosphere, many of which are still active today. Pierre was the recipient of the 2008 Alfred Wegener Medal & Honorary Membership for his outstanding contributions to geophysical fluid dynamics, his leadership in the development of climate research, and the applications of space observation to meteorology and the Earth system science.
Steve Platnick
EOS Senior Project Scientist
Share
Details
Last Updated Mar 20, 2025 Related Terms
Earth Science 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.