This World Environment Day, we should look up to the skies and say thank you to the nearly 1,500 hardworking Earth observation satellites that help us understand our changing planet.
There are things about Earth that we can only see and study from the vantage of space. Through world-renowned agencies like NASA, NOAA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the U.S. heavily invests in remote sensing technologies, cutting-edge missions and world-class scientists, including at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel. As a result, data from space is interwoven into all aspects of our lives, from the air we breathe to the water we drink and the food we eat.
Over half of the information we rely on to understand Earth’s climate — including cloud cover and water vapor levels — comes from space. This vantage point gives us insight into the amount of tree cover and whether a wildfire is starting more efficiently than we could relying solely on ground instruments.
Earth observations also play a key role in “science diplomacy” — in other words, by supporting partnerships between nations centered on scientific exchanges that improve lives. The United States is typically the nation of choice for these partnerships because of our advanced space capabilities.
