Earth Day: NASA celebrates the date with six new environmental research missions

The US space agency (POT) announced this Friday six new missions for observation and collection of environmental information on the occasion of Earth Day, which is celebrated on April 22.

Karen St. Germain, director of the Earth Sciences Division at NASA, pointed out in a press conference that for these projects, which will be developed in the next decade, the agency and collaborating entities will use airplanes, helicopters and ‘drones’ .

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One of these missions will observe changes in water flows that occur in the Arcticespecially in northern Alaska, and another will measure how wildfires create weather phenomena with their huge clouds.

Another project, which will take place in North America and in Mexico City, will studies on air pollution in urban areas with neighborhood-level observations, to determine how pollutants affect human health.

“Changes in weather patterns change the landscape itself,” St. Germain said. “For example, forest fires devastate vegetation and when it rains the terrain is prone to mudslides.”

Another mission, led by the University of Arizona, will analyze the retreat of glaciers in Greenland, Alaska and northern Canada, and one more, focused on agriculture, will measure the gases that cause the greenhouse effect.

By emphasizing the work that NASA does in the study of the Earth and its environment, St. Germain recalled that the mission of the PACE satellite Earth observation is the agency’s newest, launched last February, and supports research into “the smallest creatures in the oceans and the smallest particles in the atmosphere.”

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PACE (plankton, aerosols and clouds, ocean ecosystem) “will give us information about how aerosols can promote the growth of phytoplankton on the surface of the oceans.”

NASA director Bill Nelson, who participated in a ‘Columbia’ shuttle mission in 1986, highlighted the role played by satellites and space vehicles that make detailed observations of the Earth and provide scientific information.

“The Earth is our home, the only planet we have. We want to keep it and be more responsible with it,” she said.

On the occasion of the 54th annual Earth Day, NASA further invited “everyone on the planet to get outdoors and take a photo of themselves in every corner of the world.”

“Additional points will be given if your #GlobalSelfie shows your favorite water spot,” the call added. “71% of our ‘blue marble’ is covered by water. Show us mountains, parks, the sky, rivers, lakes and yourself.”

Source: Elcomercio

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