A collection of worldwide scientists are calling for a global strategy to monitor Earth's biodiversity from space. As biodiversity loss intensifies, traditional means to track biodiversity aren't keeping up, so satellite remote sensing is seen as the key.
A map published in Nature Scientific Reports shows what the world would look like if we could see the trillions of neutrinos that emanate from the surface of the planet each second. Dark spots on the map indicate nuclear reactors and parts of Earth's crust rich with radioactive uranium and thorium, which emit neutrinos when they decay.
A NASA satellite launched just seven months ago lost the use of one of two science instruments, but the space agency said the mission to map global soil moisture will continue.
As part of a broad effort to study the environmental and societal effects of climate change, NASA has begun a multiyear field campaign to investigate ecological impacts of the rapidly changing climate in Alaska and northwestern Canada, such as the thawing of permafrost, wildfires and changes to wildlife habitats.
NeXOS is developing standards and technologies that would allow users to share data and operate the sensors via the Web, creating a complete, end-to-end system that would dramatically reduce the complexity and cost of gathering and disseminating ocean observation.
Chinese satellites are using remote sensing to collect and process real-time images of Cambodia's Angkor Wat, the magnificent temple of the Khmer Empire.
Researchers have developed innovative flat, optical lenses as part of a collaboration between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology. These optical components are capable of manipulating light in ways that are difficult or impossible to achieve with conventional optical devices.
If there's any silver lining to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, it may come in the form of fewer smog clouds. Political upheaval, economic recession and armed conflict over the last five years drove down air-pollution levels, especially smog, across the Middle East, according to an open-access report published recently in Science Advances.
Turtle Island Restoration Network (SeaTurtles.org) partnered with DigitalGlobe's crowdsourcing platform (Tomnod.com) to create the first crowdsourced digital patrol of the Cocos Island Marine Protected Area to defend one of the Pacific Ocean's most-vibrant marine-life habitats.
China's largest, self-developed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made its maiden flight in Gansu province on Aug. 31, 2015. The drone’s first flight lasted about 20 minutes, although it can reportedly stay in the air for more than 30 hours.
