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.
Discovering Earth’s Third Global Energy Field
High above the Earth’s North and South Poles, a steady stream of particles escapes from our atmosphere into space. Scientists call this mysterious outflow the “polar wind,” and for almost 60 years, spacecraft have been flying through it as scientists have theorized about its cause. The leading theory was that a planet-wide electric field was drawing those particles up into space. But this so-called ambipolar electric field, if it exists, is so weak that all attempts to measure it have failed – until now.
Recent News and Articles
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.
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.
![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](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/totalco2-comp-1920x1920p30-00080.webp?w=4096&format=png)
NASA, Partners Launch US Greenhouse Gas Center to Share Climate Data
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.
Images of the Day
PACE
PACE will help us better understand our ocean and atmosphere by measuring key variables associated with cloud formation, particles and pollutants in the air, and microscopic, floating marine life (phytoplankton).…
Learn More![Artist's concept of PACE spacecraft](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pace-spacecraft-beauty2-jpg.webp?w=4096&format=png)
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](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NEW_Atlantic_cover_1024x576.jpeg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
NASA has a unique vantage point for observing the beauty and wonder of Earth and for making sense of it. Looking back from space, astronaut Edgar Mitchell once called Earth “a sparkling blue and white jewel,” and it does dazzle the eye.
Earth: a photo-essay.![](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/earth-book-p3-horiz.png?w=4096&format=png)
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.
Explore![Animated GIF of Spacecraft Over Earth](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Animated_GIF_of_Spacecraft_Over_Earth.gif?w=4096&format=png)