We can now observe our planet from 100 million miles away
In short: While space exploration often focuses on distant galaxies, a parallel revolution is happening closer to home. We are opening Earth's secrets like never before, using orbital platforms to monitor every shift in our atmosphere, oceans, and land cover to understand how our world is changing.
NASA considers Earth the planet it studies more than any other. While missions to other systems capture the public imagination, the Earth Science Division operates over 20 satellites specifically designed to monitor our home. These tools allow scientists to measure how changes in one system—such as ice cover or atmosphere—drive changes in others over both short and long terms. This orbital perspective provides capabilities that are impossible from the ground. For example, the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission allows for the first continuous measurement of rivers across the entire globe, from the Mississippi to the Amazon. Similarly, NASA's EMIT instrument can analyze unique light signatures from space to identify waste from tens of thousands of abandoned mines in the American West, focusing cleanup efforts where they are needed most. This data-driven approach has been evolving since 1958, when the first successful U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, returned the first science from space as sounds. Since then, we have moved from views just 100 miles above the planet to perspectives from 100 million miles away. These observations are now vital for informing societal decisions regarding sea level rise, wildfire tracking, and sustainable energy.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Exploring Earth from Space
- Also: Earth - NASA Science
- Also: Explorer 1 Space Images - NASA Science
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