A collaboration between NASA and the small business Aloft Sensing produced a new compact radar system that will enable researchers to leverage High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) platforms to observe dynamic Earth systems. This new radar is small, provides highly sensitive measurements, and doesn’t require GPS for positioning; eventually, it could be used on vehicles […]
Category: Earth Science Technology Office
NASA-funded Compact Radar Drives Big Changes in Airborne and Suborbital Radar Capabilities
A collaboration between NASA and the small business Aloft Sensing produced a new compact radar system that will enable researchers to leverage High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) platforms to observe dynamic Earth systems. This new radar is small, provides highly sensitive measurements, and doesn’t require GPS for positioning; eventually, it could be used on vehicles […]
How NASA Is Testing AI to Make Earth-Observing Satellites Smarter
A technology called Dynamic Targeting could enable spacecraft to decide, autonomously and within seconds, where to best make science observations from orbit. In a recent test, NASA showed how artificial intelligence-based technology could help orbiting spacecraft provide more targeted and valuable science data. The technology enabled an Earth-observing satellite for the first time to look […]
How NASA Is Testing AI to Make Earth-Observing Satellites Smarter
A technology called Dynamic Targeting could enable spacecraft to decide, autonomously and within seconds, where to best make science observations from orbit. In a recent test, NASA showed how artificial intelligence-based technology could help orbiting spacecraft provide more targeted and valuable science data. The technology enabled an Earth-observing satellite for the first time to look […]
NASA Sensor on Space Station Eyes Contamination off California Coast
Proof-of-concept results from the mouth of the Tijuana River in San Diego County show how an instrument called EMIT could aid wastewater detection. An instrument built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to map minerals on Earth is now revealing clues about water quality. A recent study found that EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) […]
c-FIRST Team Sets Sights on Future Fire-observing Satellite Constellations
Two NASA-developed technologies are key components of a new high-resolution sensor for observing wildfires: High Operating Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector (HOT-BIRD), developed with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), and a cutting-edge Digital Readout Integrated Circuit (DROIC), developed with funding from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. A novel space-based sensor for […]
Testing in the Clouds: NASA Flies to Improve Satellite Data
In February, NASA’s ER-2 science aircraft flew instruments designed to improve satellite data products and Earth science observations. From data collection to processing, satellite systems continue to advance, and NASA is exploring how instruments analyzing clouds can improve data measurement methods. Researchers participating in the Goddard Space Flight Center Lidar Observation and Validation Experiment (GLOVE) […]
NASA Measures Moonlight to Improve Earth Observations
Flying high above the clouds and moon-gazing may sound like a scene from a timeless romance, but NASA did just that in the name of Earth science research. In March 2025 pilots took the agency’s ER-2 science aircraft on a series of night flights over NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, as the […]
NASA Uses New Technology to Understand California Wildfires
The January wildfires in California devastated local habitats and communities. In an effort to better understand wildfire behavior, NASA scientists and engineers tried to learn from the events by testing new technology. The new instrument, the Compact Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral Tracker (c-FIRST), was tested when NASA’s B200 King Air aircraft flew over the wildfires […]