• Climate Change

NASA Finds Direct Evidence of Human-Caused Climate Change

• climate change
• NASA

by Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer While scientists have long agreed that human activity was the biggest driver of climate change, there hasn’t yet been evidence from direct observation (the gold standard of scientific research) until now.  NASA has completed the first study of its kind, which has calculated the recent causes of climate change […]

• Cosmos

NASA Earth Science to “Meet the Moment”

• biodiversity
• climate change
• COID-19
• Earth
• Earth Science
• NASA
• satellites
• space
• water

This op/ed was originally featured in SpaceNews on March 30th and has been reprinted with their and the author’s permission.  By Nancy Colleton Small businesses and large multinational corporations face incredible challenges and uncertainty in today’s world. Whether an uncertain economy, continuing impact of a pandemic, or the rapidly changing natural environment of water scarcity, ecosystem […]

• Cosmos

Experts Are Uncovering Mars’ Secrets, but Humans Could Be the Next Life Found on Mars

• colony
• Mars
• NASA
• space
• SpaceX
• trash

Experts are finally uncovering the secrets of Mars; new spacecraft, research, and data are helping NASA and other space agencies fill in gaps in knowledge about the potential for life on the red planet. 

Why This Matters: For decades, scientists have explored the idea of placing humans on Mars for research not only on the planet itself but on its potential to sustain human life.

• Cosmos

NASA Names 27 Asteroids After Black, Hispanic, and Native American Astronauts

• asteroids
• international space station
• minorities
• NASA
• space
• Space Shuttle

NASA has named 27 asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter after Black, Hispanic, and Native American astronauts to recognize their contributions and inspire a new generation of potential space explorers. Among those honored include Stephanie Wilson, Joan Higginbotham, Ed Dwight Jr., José Hernández, and John Herrington.  

Why this Matters:  NASA, like many American industries, has struggled with diversity — only 18 Black astronauts have gone to space.

• Cosmos

First All-Civilian Private Space Flight to Launch This Year

• Axiom
• Blue Origin
• international space station
• NASA
• space
• SpaceX
• tourism

On Monday, SpaceX announced that it would launch the first all-civilian crew to space this year, with no training or assistance from NASA or another government agency.  Leading the four-person mission will be billionaire Jared Isaacman, an experienced pilot and CEO of e-commerce company Shift4.

Why this Matters: This publicity stunt is meant to suggest that the goal of space tourism — to bring ordinary citizens to outer space — is nearer than we think.

• Cosmos

NASA Partners with Europeans to Launch Ocean Observing Satellite

• climate change
• Earth Observation
• NASA
• ocean
• SpaceX

NASA launched a new ocean observation satellite on the back of a SpaceX rocket last week. Now that it’s in space, the Sentinel-6 named the “Michael Freilich” will perform continuous monitoring of ocean levels and currents for the next 30 years. The “unprecedented accuracy” of its data will benefit ocean travel, weather forecasts, hurricane predictions, and climate science.  

Why This Matters: The Sentinel-6 will help scientists monitor the climate crisis as it unfolds in our world’s oceans and coasts (home to 40% of humanity).