Recent NASA Features

How 2012 Snow Stacks Up

The relatively mild winter of 2012 has many people asking, "Where's the snow?" These maps show the answer.
'First Light' Taken by NASA's Newest CERES Instrument

The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System instrument had its 'first light' moment aboard the Suomi NPP satellite.
NASA-led Study Solves Case of Earth's 'Missing Energy'

Inconsistencies between satellite observations of Earth's heat and measurements of ocean heating led NASA scientists to reexamine the data to solve the puzzle.

Earth Observatory Features

Where is the Hottest Place on Earth?
April 5, 2012

Although many places claim to be the hottest place on Earth only one can top the temperature scales. What does it mean to be hot? How does it effect how humans develop the land?
World of Change: Aral Sea
Updated September 2011

A massive irrigation project in the Kyzylkum Desert of central Asia has devastated the Aral Sea over the past 50 years. These images show the continued decline.
Seeing Forests for the Trees and the Carbon: Mapping the World's Forests in Three Dimensions
January 9, 2012

Earth has a carbon problem, and some think trees are the answer. Would it help to plant more? To cut down fewer? Does it matter where?

Terra Fact Sheet
1999

This article provides an overview of the Terra mission.
Learning to Fly
May 2000

The launch and activation of Terra as seen through the eyes of mission control.
Terra Turns Five
February 2005

After five years in operation, Terra provides valuable scientific information about the cause and effects of environmental change.
Earth Observatory 10th Anniversary
April 2009

The idea of the Earth Observatory was hatched in the late 1990s to distribute images and information from the Terra mission.
Perspectives: Why EOS Matters
September 2009

These two opinion essays, written a decade apart, reflect on the value of the Terra mission and the Earth Observing System.