Earth

NASA studies our own planet more than any other. We operate 26 missions in orbit and sponsor hundreds of research programs and studies each year. We observe our planet’s oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere, and measure how a change in one drives change in others. We develop new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected systems and we build long-term data records of how our planet evolves. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world.

Recent News and Articles

NASA Project in Puerto Rico Trains Students in Marine Biology

How NASA Studies Fires in a Changing World

From forest floor to space, NASA scientists and collaborators are advancing tools and methods to predict, remotely detect, and ultimately mitigate wildfires. That process starts with understanding fire behavior, tracking them with satellites, and getting that data in the hands of land managers and communities facing record-breaking fire seasons.

Greenhouse Gases

NASA has several instruments and tools for measuring and modeling greenhouse gases – where they come from, where they go, and how they are driving climate change. The agency works with federal, state, and international partners to make this information freely available.

Explore Climate Change Drivers

4 min read

New NASA Study Tallies Carbon Emissions From Massive Canadian Fires

This is a still of a data visualization of global carbon dioxide that orbits Earth from a distance.

5 min read

Watch Carbon Dioxide Move Through Earth’s Atmosphere

NASA-Designed Greenhouse Gas-Detection Instrument Launches

A satellite viewpoint of the United States in black with state outline overlays has a pixelated colorscale overlay indicating how much methane was released in a given area that ranges from black or dark brown into brassier colors until you reach white. While most of the map is a very dark shade, indicating little methane emissions, there are a few spots on the map that range into, or very nearly reach a white coloration. The two most significant of these white spots in size and lightness are in Texas Eastern and Western Borders. Other large population centers also show elevated levels such as the California Valley and Bay Area.

Satellite Data Suggest U.S. Methane Emissions Underestimated

A Globe that is primarily facing the Americas and Pacific Ocean with an atmospheric overlay showing CO2 concentrations, with dense swirls over the United States

NASA, Partners Launch US Greenhouse Gas Center to Share Climate Data

5 min read

As the Arctic Warms, Its Waters Are Emitting Carbon

Inside NASA's OCEANOS

NASA’s bilingual OCEANOS program gives graduating high school seniors and first-generation undergraduate students in Puerto Rico an opportunity to participate in NASA research. The goal of the program is to bring oceanography and STEM opportunities to the Hispanic/Latinos community.

Images of the Day

More Earth Observatory Images of the Day

The Antarctic is displayed on a thermal image cooler regions are white to blue, the warmest temperatures are yellow and the neutral color is purple. The Brunt Ice shelf on the right is very cold. The Iceberg A-83 is equally as cool and just offshore from the ice shelf. A couple orange spots peak through near the iceberg, one between it and the McDonald Ice Rumples. At the very bottom of the image the water is primarily purple. The remainder of the Weddell sea is comprised of sea-ice and appears a darker shade of blue.

A Winter Wanderer in the Weddell Sea

Under the cloak of darkness, Iceberg A-83 wiggled away from glue-like sea ice and drifted farther from the Brunt Ice Shelf—but not without sustaining some damage.

A night image of the Korean Peninsula shows the Sea of Japan, with cloud coverage in the lower right, and the Yellow Sea on the left of the peninsula. The land highlights capital cities of Pyongyang in the North, and Seoul in the South. There is some illumination visible from Pyongyang, while Seoul is brightly illuminated. The city of Daejeon is also labelled and well illuminated. In the North, Yangdŏk is labelled and appears to have some night illumination as well. The DMZ border between the two countries is highlighted.

The Korean Peninsula at Night

Images of nighttime lights reveal patterns in population and urban development.

Satellite image of primarily beige landscape, a thin black line divides the image in a rough diagonal. The region above the line has a small amount of land appearing bright green and is labelled Morocco. The region below is labelled Algeria. In the middle right the town Abadla is labelled, in the lower right corner is Sebkha el Melah, where some topography shows through the sands. The Image centers on turquoise blue water pooling floodwater. There are also dark blue waters further left that are zoomed in on.

A Deluge for the Sahara

An extratropical storm system dropped torrential rains on parts of Morocco and Algeria.

Coastal New Zealand is shown, the land is depicted left and the Pacific Ocean right. At the left edge of the image is a rusty brown colored land labeled Rock and Pillar Range. It ends before reaching the top of the image where the Kakanui Mountains descend from the top center diagonally down to the coast. A large cloud sliver appears between these two high elevation formations, casting a visible shadow onto the land below. At the bottom of the shadow the town of Middlemarch is labeled. Right of the cloud and below the Kakanui Mountains a mine is labelled and the color of the land is different in that spot. on the Southern coast the City of Dunedin is labelled.

Marvelous Lenticularis

Rugged terrain on New Zealand’s South Island gives rise to a distinctive lenticular cloud formation, known locally as the Taieri Pet.

Swirling white clouds appear centered over the Gulf of Mexico. The outer bands cover the U.S. Gulf Coast, though only the panhandle of Florida is pictured.

Francine Bears Down on Louisiana

Fueled by warm water in the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane will be the third to make landfall in the 2024 season.

grey to sand colored clouds billow and occupy most of the image. The bottom of the image is the only area where land can be seen. In the bottom left Seven Oaks Dam is labeled. In the bottom center CA 38 Highway is labeled. Slightly above the highway orange flames are visible and in the bottom right an orange spot is labeled an Active fire.

Weather-Making Fire Burns in Southern California

Intense blazes, including the Line fire, supercharged afternoon convective clouds.

The image centers the waters of a fjord and surrounding mountains. Glaciers meet the waters at the top left, the west branch and top right, the Main Branch. The waters converge and make their way toward open ocean out of from at the bottom center. At the bottom center is Heather Island. Mountains at the bottom of the image are green with foliage, but peaked with snow coverage. Further up the image the land is nearly entirely snow covered. On the right edge of where the meltwater branches converge Great Nunatak is labeled. A rocky outcrop is labelled between Great Nunatak and the leading edge of the Main Branch.

Alaska’s Iconic Columbia Glacier Still Retreats

The glacier’s Main Branch pulled away from a stabilizing rocky outcrop, while melting along the West Branch exposed “new gravelly real estate.”

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The Ocean and Climate Change

With 70 percent of the planet covered in water, the seas are important drivers of the global climate. Yet increasing greenhouse gases from human activities are altering the ocean before our eyes.

What NASA is Seeing

Visualization of ocean currents in the North Atlantic. The colors show sea surface temperature (orange and yellow are warmer, green and blue are colder). Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Earth Information Center

For more than 50 years, NASA satellites have provided data on Earth's land, water, air, temperature, and climate. NASA's Earth Information Center allows visitors to see how our planet is changing in six key areas: sea level rise and coastal impacts, health and air quality, wildfires, greenhouse gases, sustainable energy, and agriculture.

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