Space
NASA Is Just Killing It With These Earth-Watching Satellites
Five satellites launched in the past year are keeping an eye on Earth, wind and fire. And water.
This map shows solar-induced fluorescence, a plant process that occurs during photosynthesis, from Nov. through Dec. 2014 as measured by NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2.
NASA/JPL-CaltechThis article is for subscribers only.
Anybody can drive a shovel into the ground to see how moist the soil is. What's tricky is doing it over every square yard of land on Earth. From 426 miles above the surface of the planet. Every 100 minutes.
Fortunately, we don't have to. Now there's SMAP, the newest NASA Earth-observing satellite, which from its orbit can read soil moisture levels two inches deep, just about anywhere there's soil. It will help predict floods and weather, watch droughts, and monitor agricultural conditions, particularly where people's lives may be urgently at stake.